Salesforce has committed to bringing the dedicated search function back to its help portal in a statement to CX Today.
The news comes after users expressed their frustration at the replacement of its classic search bar with an Agentforce AI assistant on September 29.
Instead of being able to type a keyword to get a list of matching articles, documentation, or guides, the only option was to ask the AI‑powered conversational assistant questions.
Frustrated at the loss of the familiar tool, many users took to Salesforce’s IdeaExchange forum and social media to request its return, saying that it was faster, more predictable, and more reliable.
Yet, Salesforce has listened and is now bringing the search bar back in response to the feedback.
Bernard Slowey, SVP of Digital Success at Salesforce, said: First and foremost, I want to thank you. The passion and feedback you’ve shared on IdeaExchange about the removal of the site search bar has been heard loud and clear. Your willingness to use this platform to let us know where we can improve is invaluable, and I have personally read every single one of your comments. We truly appreciate it.
Slowey added that the company had decided to remove the search bar as part of a data-driven effort to streamline the user experience and shift focus toward Agentforce, but acknowledged that the move underestimated how essential traditional search still is for a core group of users.
“We know how important Salesforce Help is to your daily work,” he continued. “The decision to remove the search bar was based on data analysis that showed an average of only 1.7% of Help sessions engaging with search, with trends pointing down. With our focus on enhancing the Agentforce experience and a belief that we could streamline the customer journey, we felt this was a logical step forward.”
You’ve made clear that even with low usage, the search bar is a critical tool for many of you, and that removing it created friction in your workflow. We hear you. Because of your feedback, we are committing to bringing back a dedicated search capability to Salesforce Help – this is a top priority.
Slowey indicated that rather than reverting to the traditional search bar completely, Salesforce will combine search and conversational AI with search functionality built into or accessible via Agentforce.
“Over time, our vision is to enable search functionality directly in Agentforce on Salesforce Help, and we’ll be sure to consult our customers and community,” Slowey said. “In the meantime, we will be reaching out to a few of you to engage directly. Thank you again for your candid feedback and for helping us make Salesforce better.”
Pushing ahead with Agentforce is part of Salesforce’s bigger bet on agentic AI to handle simple customer queries.
Salesforce is taking a “customer zero” approach, essentially testing its own tools on itself to catch issues like overlapping documentation, missing content, and outdated pages that can confuse users as well as its own AI assistant.
The push to go all-in on Agentforce is not surprising in the context of the broader move towards incorporating AI agents into customer interactions. Nearly every tech giant is betting on AI agents to handle more of the customer support load. But this episode is a reminder that execution matters.
Users expect documentation and help systems to be fast, clear, and, maybe most importantly, predictable. So when a working search bar suddenly disappears, replaced even by a well-intentioned AI assistant that sometimes misses the mark, frustration can mount.
Even when automation promises efficiency, pulling the plug on reliable tools without offering users a choice risks alienating those users.
Thankfully, Salesforce seems to be listening and prepared to adjust (or at least being forced to). What remains to be seen is how seamless the restored search will be, how well the combined search and AI tools work together, and whether users regain confidence in the help system
