What Is Salesforce Koa, and Is It GA for Agentforce?
Koa is Salesforce's first CRM reasoning model for Agentforce, post-trained from NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Super inside the Salesforce trust boundary. As of the Sep 15, 2026 press release it is available to select pilot customers only, with general availability expected winter 2026 in U.S. regions. It is a model-provider choice, not a new interface layer and not a Flex Credits usage type.
Jonathan Kvarfordt · Published September 17, 2026 · 8 min read
The short answer
What is Salesforce Koa, and is it generally available for Agentforce?
Decision rule
Treat Koa as a model-provider choice inside Agentforce, not a new interface layer like AIforce and not a Flex Credits usage type. Do not call it GA. Do not budget Winter 2026 U.S. GA until your AE puts the release window, edition gates, and metering (if any) in writing on the Order Form or in release notes. Prefer the Sep 15 press release availability line over marketing decks.
Evidence
- Salesforce press release (Sep 15, 2026): Koa is Salesforce's first CRM reasoning model for Agentforce, built on NVIDIA Nemotron. https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2026/09/15/koa-reasoning-model/
- Same press release: Koa is post-trained from NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Super with a proprietary synthetic dataset; no customer data was used to train it; Salesforce controls the weights, and post-training and inference run inside the Salesforce trust boundary.
- Same press release, availability: available to select pilot customers now in Agentforce; general availability expected winter 2026 in U.S. regions.
- Same press release, vendor benchmark: Salesforce claims Koa matches or exceeds leading model performance on CRM actions with three times fewer errors. Vendor claim, vendor benchmark, not Report research.
- Same press release, named pilots: 1-800Accountant, Baxter Credit Union (BCU), Engine, Formula 1, UChicago Medicine, Xero.
- Salesforce engineering story (Sep 16, 2026): Koa was co-engineered with NVIDIA on Nemotron 3 Super (120B) and is described as the first AI reasoning model optimized for enterprise work inside the trust boundary; a small group of customer pilots is running in service, sales, and commerce. https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/why-we-post-trained-our-own-reasoning-model/
- Same engineering story (vendor claim): traces and data on Koa do not train the model, in contrast to sending traces to a rented frontier model. Salesforce also names HyperClassifier, TextEval, and Moirai as specialized models, with Koa handling multi-step enterprise reasoning.
- Product page: Koa can be deployed as a managed LLM in the Data Cloud generative models catalogue, set as the org-wide Agentforce model provider in Setup, or selected at the Agent, Sub-Agent, or router level in the builder. https://www.salesforce.com/agentforce/koa/
- Product page vendor benchmark (CRM Bench): +11% precision calling the right action, 2.1x reliability recalling context, 15% better context in long conversations. Vendor benchmark, not Report research.
- Product page availability line: select pilot customers now; GA expected in U.S. regions Winter 2026; open beta planned shortly after.
- Separate track, mentioned for completeness: the press release lists Missionforce Operations as GA now in the U.S., with post-trained NVIDIA models for Missionforce select customers in October 2026.
Operator action
Send four questions to your AE in writing before anyone builds a plan around Koa. One: are we on the pilot list, and if not, what is the path. Two: which agents, sub-agents, or routers can select Koa in our org today. Three: does Koa consume Flex Credits or tokens differently from the default model, and where does that show in Digital Wallet. Four: confirm the temperature-0 serving and trust-boundary claims for our org, in writing, not from a deck.
Supporting pages
- The same question, four different answers the data behind this piece
- Kill Criteria definition
- The Proof Gap definition
Last reviewed
Salesforce announced a model. Within a day the name was being used three different ways: a new Agentforce edition, a replacement for AIforce, a credit type. It is none of those. Primary sources for everything below: the Koa press release, Sep 15, 2026, the engineering story, Sep 16, 2026, and the Koa product page.
This page is a decoder for buyers. No prices, no GA claim, no recommendation to buy.
The argument
How this reality check breaks down
A map of the sections ahead, in the order the case is made. Schematic, not a dataset. Source-cited charts live in the research library.
Contents diagram for What Is Salesforce Koa, and Is It GA for Agentforce?, listing the sections: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06.01. What Koa is
Salesforce describes Koa as its first CRM reasoning model for Agentforce, built on NVIDIA Nemotron. The engineering story is more specific: Salesforce co-engineered Koa with NVIDIA by post-training the open Nemotron 3 Super model at 120B parameters, using a proprietary synthetic dataset.
Three claims matter to a buyer, and all three are Salesforce's own words. No customer data was used to train the model. Salesforce controls the weights. Post-training and inference both run inside the Salesforce trust boundary. The engineering story extends that to usage: Salesforce says traces and data on Koa do not train the model, and contrasts that with sending your traces to a rented frontier model.
Reality Check
What Is Salesforce Koa, and Is It GA for Agentforce?
Schematic, not a dataset. Source-cited charts live in the research library.
What Is Salesforce Koa, and Is It GA for Agentforce?. Diagram showing Evidence, Analysis, Decision, Outcome.Koa is not the only model Salesforce post-trains. The engineering story names HyperClassifier, TextEval, and Moirai for specialized jobs. Koa is the one aimed at multi-step enterprise reasoning, the kind of work an agent does when it has to chain several CRM actions together.
02. Where Koa sits, and where it does not
Use three names and add nothing.
- AIforce: the interface layer. Salesforce data, workflows, logic, and permissions brought to any AI interface. Decoder: https://www.therevenueaireport.com/blog/aiforce-vs-agentforce-claudeforce-slackforce
- Agentforce: the digital workforce.
- Koa: a CRM reasoning model option that can power Agentforce processes.
Do not flatten Koa into AIforce. They are different layers doing different jobs. AIforce decides where the work shows up. Koa is one of the engines that can do the reasoning behind it. A deck that says Koa is the new AIforce is wrong against both primary sources.
Koa is also not a usage type. Nothing in the press release, the engineering story, or the product page publishes a Koa rate, a Koa credit line, or a Koa edition. If a meter exists, it has not been published. See tokens versus Flex Credits for how Agentforce consumption is actually reported today.
03. Availability: pilot, not GA
The Sep 15 press release availability line is the one to quote: Koa is available to select pilot customers now in Agentforce, and general availability is expected winter 2026 in U.S. regions. Expected is the word. Not committed, not dated.
The product page carries the same pilot line and adds that Salesforce plans an open beta shortly after GA. The engineering story describes a small group of customer pilots running in service, sales, and commerce. Three Salesforce sources, one consistent status: pilot.
The press release names the pilot customers: 1-800Accountant, Baxter Credit Union (BCU), Engine, Formula 1, UChicago Medicine, and Xero. A named pilot list is useful evidence that the pilot is real. It is not evidence that the model is available to you.
One adjacent line so nobody confuses the tracks. The press release lists Missionforce Operations as GA now in the U.S., with post-trained NVIDIA models for Missionforce select customers in October 2026. That is a separate track from Koa in Agentforce. Do not use a Missionforce GA date to argue Koa is shipping.
04. The benchmark numbers, and who is making them
Salesforce publishes two sets of numbers. Both are vendor benchmarks. Attribute them every time you put them on a slide.
- Press release (vendor): Koa matches or exceeds leading model performance on CRM actions with three times fewer errors.
- Product page, CRM Bench (vendor): +11% precision calling the right action, 2.1x reliability recalling context, 15% better context in long conversations.
None of these are Report research and none of them are your numbers. A vendor benchmark run on a vendor-defined CRM benchmark tells you the model is competitive on the tasks the vendor chose. It tells you nothing about error rates on your objects, your permissions model, or your messy pipeline data. The only benchmark that settles the question is the one you run in your own org against your current model, side by side.
05. How you would actually turn it on
The product page describes three deploy paths, and they matter because they tell you how granular the decision is.
- As a managed LLM in the Data Cloud generative models catalogue.
- As the org-wide Agentforce model provider in Setup.
- Selected at the Agent, Sub-Agent, or router level in the builder.
That third path is the one to plan around. If the model can be selected per agent or per router, the rollout is not an org-wide switch, and the rollback is not one either. You can put Koa behind one sub-agent, hold your current model everywhere else, and compare. Build the rollback into the plan before the pilot starts: rollback plan before production.
The product page FAQ also states that no customer data is used in training, describes a temperature 0 serving configuration, and describes a serving harness. Temperature 0 is a determinism setting: the same input is meant to produce the same output rather than a different phrasing each run. If that claim is load-bearing for your audit or compliance review, get it confirmed for your org in writing.
06. The four questions for your AE
- Are we on the pilot list, and if not, what is the path onto it.
- Which agents, sub-agents, or routers can select Koa in our org today.
- Does Koa consume Flex Credits or tokens differently from the default model, and where does that appear in Digital Wallet.
- Confirm the temperature-0 serving and trust-boundary claims for our org, in writing.
Get the answers on the Order Form or in release notes, not in a call recap. Winter 2026 in U.S. regions is a stated expectation from a press release, and expectations move. Budget against the contract, not the announcement.
What this page is not
- Not a price list. Salesforce has published no Koa list price, credit rate, or edition gate.
- Not a GA claim. Pilot is the word in all three Salesforce sources.
- Not a recommendation to buy or to wait.
- Not a claim about Koa's real-world error rate. Every number above is a vendor benchmark.
More: AIforce, Agentforce, Claudeforce, Slackforce · Tokens versus Flex Credits · AI vendor diligence questions · Buying AI software · AI pricing and contracts
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Take it to the room
The short list this issue leaves you with
Pulled from the argument above, written so you can read it out in a pipeline or board review. Schematic, not a dataset.
Checklist diagram summarising What Is Salesforce Koa, and Is It GA for Agentforce?: Not a price list; Not a GA claim; Not a recommendation to buy or to wait; Not a claim about Koa's real-world error rate.Frequently asked questions
- What is Salesforce Koa?
- Koa is Salesforce's first CRM reasoning model for Agentforce, announced Sep 15, 2026. Salesforce post-trained NVIDIA's Nemotron 3 Super (120B) with a proprietary synthetic dataset, says no customer data was used to train it, controls the weights, and runs post-training and inference inside the Salesforce trust boundary. It handles multi-step enterprise reasoning behind Agentforce processes. Sources: https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2026/09/15/koa-reasoning-model/ and https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/why-we-post-trained-our-own-reasoning-model/
- Is Salesforce Koa generally available?
- No. The Sep 15, 2026 press release says Koa is available to select pilot customers now in Agentforce, with general availability expected winter 2026 in U.S. regions. The Koa product page carries the same pilot line and adds that an open beta is planned shortly after GA. Treat Winter 2026 as an expectation, not a commitment, until your AE confirms the release window in writing. Source: https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2026/09/15/koa-reasoning-model/
- Is Koa part of AIforce?
- No. AIforce is the interface layer that brings Salesforce data, workflows, logic, and permissions to any AI interface. Agentforce is the digital workforce. Koa is a CRM reasoning model option that can power Agentforce processes. Koa changes which engine does the reasoning; it does not change the interface layer and it is not a Flex Credits usage type. Full AIforce decoder: https://www.therevenueaireport.com/blog/aiforce-vs-agentforce-claudeforce-slackforce
- Does Salesforce train Koa on our customer data?
- Salesforce says no. The Sep 15, 2026 press release states Koa was post-trained with a proprietary synthetic dataset and that no customer data was used to train it, that Salesforce controls the weights, and that post-training and inference run inside the Salesforce trust boundary. The Sep 16 engineering story adds that traces and data on Koa do not train the model. These are vendor claims; have them confirmed in writing for your org before your security review signs off.
- How do we select Koa in Agentforce?
- The Koa product page describes three deploy paths: as a managed LLM in the Data Cloud generative models catalogue, as the org-wide Agentforce model provider in Setup, or selected at the Agent, Sub-Agent, or router level in the builder. Per-agent selection means you can pilot Koa behind one sub-agent and hold your current model everywhere else. Source: https://www.salesforce.com/agentforce/koa/
- What should we ask the AE before enabling Koa?
- Four questions, answered in writing on the Order Form or in release notes. One: are we on the pilot list, and if not, what is the path. Two: which agents, sub-agents, or routers can select Koa in our org today. Three: does Koa consume Flex Credits or tokens differently from the default model, and where does that appear in Digital Wallet. Four: confirm the temperature-0 serving and trust-boundary claims for our org. Do not budget Winter 2026 U.S. GA until the release window and any edition gates are in writing.
- Are Salesforce's Koa benchmark numbers independent?
- No. They are vendor benchmarks. The press release claims Koa matches or exceeds leading model performance on CRM actions with three times fewer errors. The product page cites CRM Bench results of +11% precision calling the right action, 2.1x reliability recalling context, and 15% better context in long conversations. All of these are Salesforce's own figures on a Salesforce-selected benchmark, not Report research and not your org's error rate. Run a side-by-side against your current model in your own org before treating any of them as a plan input.
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