Overlapping Topics Are Confusing Your Salesforce Agents—Here’s the Fix
One of the biggest challenges in building effective Salesforce AI agents isn’t the model itself—it’s the design of the topics we give it to work with.
When multiple topics overlap, agents struggle to classify user intent. For example, imagine a travel assistant with both “Reservation Management” and “Customer Experience Support.” A user says, “I want to make a booking.” Does the agent think they want a hotel room? Or a mini golf session? The result: confusion, misclassification, and frustrated customers.
Why Overlap Happens
Too-broad topic descriptions: Topics that try to cover multiple “jobs to be done.”
Ambiguous classification keywords: Phrases like “make a reservation” could belong to multiple topics.
Poor scoping: Instructions don’t clearly state what not to do.
Why It Matters
Overlapping topics don’t just confuse the agent—they erode trust. If customers feel they can’t rely on consistent answers, they’re less likely to keep engaging with the AI (and more likely to escalate to a human).
How to Fix It
Define clear, non-overlapping jobs-to-be-done. Break down topics into distinct areas of responsibility.
Refine classification descriptions. Use the actual language customers use (“book a hotel room” vs. “book an activity”) and make them mutually exclusive.
Add example utterances. Give your agent real-world phrasing examples to improve classification accuracy.
Merge or redefine topics when needed. If two topics are always in conflict, consider whether they should be merged—or scoped differently.
Pro Tip
Start with fewer, tightly scoped topics. It’s easier to expand coverage over time than to fix an agent weighed down by overlap.
Overlapping topics are a design issue—not an AI issue. With clearer scope, stronger descriptions, and better examples, your Salesforce AI agents will classify more effectively, respond with confidence, and deliver the kind of seamless experience customers expect.
How are you handling overlapping topics in your AI projects?
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