Agentic AI bolsters Scape’s workforce

The push to overcome productivity challenges with digital labour is putting some companies ahead of the pack. 

Responding to more than 70,000 customer enquiries all at once can feel like a communication avalanche, prompting a radical rethink for purpose-built student accommodation provider Scape. 

The Australian property success story has grown from humble beginnings over the last decade into a network of 38 state-of-the-art properties. These properties house over 18,000 students from across Australia and overseas, who come to pursue their university education down under. 

Mostly, Scape residents want to ask where to find a local laundromat, how to use local transport, or where to buy great, affordable food nearby. But these often repetitive queries were sapping team resources, and being on call around the clock to answer questions proved challenging. 

On the cusp of bold expansion plans, Scape knew it needed to bolster its digital capabilities to keep up with the growing demand for its services. Most of Scape’s customers have moved to Australia from overseas, and Scape wanted to be there for them 24/7 to answer questions and help them settle in during a significant time in their lives. 

Unlocking new capacity for growth

“Scape was already a strong digital operator. However, a number of the platforms weren’t talking to each other, impacting potential efficiency gains. We needed digital assistance to handle 20,000 students, particularly as we expand into new market segments, such as residential services,” says Mirko Gropp, GM Digital, Information and Technology at Scape, who joined the company to connect Scape’s tech stack better and contribute to the vision of becoming the earth’s best living company, starting with its resident-facing support. 

Scape consolidated customer-facing platforms on Salesforce, elevating its digital capabilities and bolstering business agility in new ways. However, the game-changer has been the deployment of Agentforce – Salesforce’s agentic AI layer and a complete AI system for augmenting teams with trusted autonomous AI agents in the flow of work – particularly during peak periods when pressure on internal teams increases. 

Agentforce is powered by Data Cloud, a hyperscale data engine inside Salesforce that makes it possible to collect and integrate all of a company’s enterprise data and metadata in one place. With Agentforce, Scape’s AI agents can provide answers and assistance to students quickly, 24/7, powered by this vast organisational knowledge. 

This is particularly important at the start of the university year when up to 10,000 students move into their properties at the same time. 

“It’s been a huge leap forward in a very short time. Our target is to resolve half of our enquiries via an AI agent, improving the resolution time of resident enquiries and, in turn, freeing up our teams to provide support where it counts – building community and supporting resident well-being,” Gropp says. 

“This is the first time in history that a piece of software has agency to think, reason, learn, and act. It’s helping employees find more satisfaction at work and support customers 24/7.” 

Mirko Gropp

Streamlining resident interactions has been incredible for the high-growth property developer and manager. Scape anticipates that Agentforce will facilitate a 50% reduction in support cases while also improving the experience of its young customer base, who prefer to access support through channels like WhatsApp rather than visit a front desk or write an email. 

“Now that the technology is embedded, Agentforce will autonomously take action to enhance the customer experience and drive growth. For example, an AI agent will recommend the best accommodation for a customer based on their preferences and university location. The agent could then facilitate the booking from beginning to end. It’s a game-changer,” Gropp says. 

Limitless workforce on the rise 

Most Australian companies are prioritising better AI capabilities this year, with a particular focus on agentic AI, recent research by YouGov has revealed. 

“Nearly all (96 per cent) of respondents said agentic AI was a priority for the success of their business in the next 12 months while bringing innovative customer or employee experiences to market and introducing more personalised customer experiences are top of the agenda for companies,” says Frank Fillmann, EVP & GM, Salesforce ANZ. 

It’s hardly surprising. Key challenges facing Australian businesses include a tight labour market, flat productivity, and exploding and changing demands from customers. “This creates friction and a lot of these challenges are falling on employees. They’re trying to serve the needs of their customers, while also facing a range of inefficiencies that prevent them from getting work done productively. The pressure on front line employees particularly is immense,” Fillmann says. 

Enabling companies to expand the capacity of their workforce through digital labour, Agentforce helps teams build AI agents that learn from data, adapt to any experience and take action around the clock. 

“No company is better positioned to help companies realise the promise of AI over the next decade than Salesforce. This is the first time that a piece of software has agency to think, reason, learn, and act. It’s helping employees find more satisfaction at work and support customers 24/7,” Fillmann says. 

The platform enables companies to operate under an umbrella of robust data based on every single customer interaction, located in one deeply unified platform. “Agentforce is boosting productivity and customer satisfaction to unprecedented levels, seamlessly integrating AI across every workflow, embedding itself into the heart of the customer journey,” Fillmann says. 

Companies only have finite resources, yet customers’ needs and expectations continue to grow, creating a gap best filled with digital labour. “We have a scarcity problem, and we can’t wait years to solve it,” he says. 

“Handling the ever-increasing workload amid a productivity crisis is a critical challenge for Australian businesses. While the vast majority accept that AI is the solution, actually understanding how it can solve their unique business problems is more complicated.” 

“Companies have turned to AI to help, but have a low tolerance for inadequate or outdated solutions, such as chatbots and copilots, that provide generic responses or struggle to provide accurate responses to complex requests. Unlocking new capacity  
in a meaningful way is only possible through the introduction of digital labour through agentic AI. 

“With AI agents, companies no longer need to choose between enhancing productivity and building better relationships with customers – opening the door to a workforce without limits,” says Fillmann. 

Scape is excited about the future. With a vision to expand into new sectors and double its growth in the next five years, connecting its operations on Salesforce has elevated its digital capabilities beyond measure. 

With AI agents handling routine questions, Scape has unlocked team capacity to focus on complex conversations and higher-value tasks.  

“Last year, there was a lot of hype around AI capabilities, but this new technology is now maturing in a way that enables anyone to drive productivity,” Gropp says. 

Agentforce can seamlessly integrate AI agents into existing data systems, business logic, and user interfaces so they can anticipate business needs and take action‌ – freeing up time for human employees to focus on what they do best. Find out more here: Agentforce: Create Powerful AI Agents | Salesforce ANZ