Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO of Salesforce for UK and Ireland, announced at the supplier’s AIforce World Tour London event that it will provide free Slack Enterprise access to British further and higher education students.
The supplier said the initiative is part of a $6bn investment in the country’s economy.
“Young people will define the next decade of UK business, and it’s imperative that students across all disciplines are able to learn to use AI responsibly,” said Bahrololoumi. “By bringing Slack and AI-powered tools like Slackbot directly into further and higher education, we are giving young people hands-on experience with the exact technology and operating system used by organisations across the UK. Ultimately, this creates a stronger talent pipeline for UK employers and ensures that the benefits of technology can be felt across every postcode.”
In a briefing with a small group of UK press at the supplier’s recent Dreamforce event in San Francisco, she said Salesforce UK and Ireland is looking to help repatriate jobs in the broader economy as well as at the firm, using automation made possible by the use of AI.
“We need more talent,” said Bahrololoumi. “I feel so confident, and we’ve got the evidence and the proof points that this [AI] technology and our platform can work and automate jobs, and augment jobs and expand human capacity, that I would like to see more jobs being repatriated from offshore and low-cost locations and jobs being created back in the UK.
“I would like to see a stronger drive around automation and repatriation. Why can we not create a hundred jobs in the UK and still do 300-plus worth of capacity?”
Today’s announcement is said to be aimed at closing a digital skills gap in the UK, “giving students a single place to learn, connect, and build real AI skills – right where their everyday conversations happen”.
The supplier cited research it commissioned with Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, a business podcast and media production, and carried out by Focaldata, a London-based research company that extensively uses AI, that said 61% of UK workers receive no AI training. And added that one million young people are classified as not in education, employment or training, according to UK government figures.
Salesforce has previously announced a $6bn investment in its UK business through to 2030. In May 2026, it said it had expanded its London campus, relocating its AI Centre to Devonshire Square in London. It says the campus has since welcomed schools whose students have taken part in AI skills workshops.
With the free Slack Enterprise offer, Salesforce said universities can introduce AI agents directly into Slack channels to handle student services queries, coordinate study groups and assist academic research teams.
It said each HE or FE institution will retain full administrative control: “Colleges and universities can set customised permissions and guardrails based on their needs. Student data remains strictly protected, compliant with UK data regulations, and is never used to train external AI models.”
In an essay that was part of Computer Weekly’s 60th anniversary publishing programme, Bahrololoumi said: “AI could insulate us from the need to figure it out together. I could feasibly sit at home, experimenting with the latest tools. Would I learn things? Of course. Would I learn as much as I do by exchanging ideas, challenging assumptions and working through problems together with people? I’m not convinced.
“That’s why human skills will always be in demand,” she said. “As AI handles routine tasks, we must continue to nurture talent and not sacrifice entry-level roles.”
