IRS AI Agentforce rollout begins. The Internal Revenue Service has begun deploying Salesforce’s artificial intelligence agent system, Agentforce, across several major divisions, according to details shared exclusively with Axios. This marks a significant shift for the agency, which has been operating with a sharply reduced workforce after layoffs during the Trump administration. With staffing down by 25% this year—dropping from 100,000 employees to roughly 75,000—the IRS is turning to AI to fill critical gaps. IRS AI Agentforce rollout begins.
IRS AI Agentforce rollout: Here’s how
Agentforce will support the Office of Chief Counsel, the Taxpayer Advocate Service, and the Office of Appeals, said Paul Tatum, Salesforce’s executive vice president for global public sector solutions. After several years of collaboration to modernize the agency’s outdated platforms, Salesforce is now expanding its involvement by bringing in AI-driven capabilities. The system will assist with time-consuming tasks such as case summarization and improved search, enabling departments to move through taxpayer issues more efficiently.
Government agencies across the U.S. are beginning to integrate AI into everyday operations, and this trend has opened major opportunities for companies eager to prove the value of large-scale AI adoption. For Salesforce, the IRS rollout serves as a high-visibility example of how intelligent agents can support complex public-sector missions. IRS AI Agentforce rollout.
Tatum emphasized that Salesforce does not fully support automated tax processing. The company insists on maintaining human oversight for all sensitive decisions. According to him, strict guardrails are built into Agentforce; the system cannot make final determinations or release funds. Instead, it acts as a high-speed assistant, providing information and reducing the burden on human staff.
Rob Fitzpatrick, a senior counsel specializing in technology for the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, described the move as both timely and necessary. The agency began updating its decades-old systems in 2023, and although he initially resisted the use of AI, his perspective shifted as modernization progressed. He now believes withholding these tools would be irresponsible, especially when competing with private law firms that already rely heavily on automation.
Fitzpatrick, who has served the IRS for 38 years, sees the technological shift as inevitable. Staffing reductions, in his view, are tied to broader factors rather than AI adoption alone. He argued that embracing new tools will ultimately make employees more effective and able to handle rising workloads. Those unwilling to adapt, he warned, may find themselves left behind. IRS AI Agentforce rollout
“Change is coming whether we like it or not,” he said. “Our choice is to use these tools to become faster and more productive, or refuse the change and fall behind.”
The rollout of Agentforce marks one of the most significant digital transformations in the IRS’s history. With staffing levels dropping to record lows over the past decade, the agency has struggled to keep pace with rising workloads, complex tax regulations, and an increasing volume of citizen inquiries. By integrating AI into daily operations, the IRS hopes to close this widening gap without compromising service quality or compliance standards.
Agentforce is designed to assist with tasks that traditionally consume thousands of work hours—such as document classification, fraud detection, return verification, and taxpayer support triage. Instead of replacing human agents entirely, the system acts as a digital co-worker, handling repetitive tasks so IRS personnel can focus on high-value cases and detailed audits. Early internal testing shows significant time savings and improved accuracy, especially in areas where frontline staff previously faced overwhelming backlogs.
Another major advantage is scalability. AI can manage surges during tax season without requiring massive temporary staffing boosts. This allows the IRS to provide faster response times while maintaining consistent performance year-round. As Agentforce continues to evolve, policymakers view it as a blueprint for how government agencies can strategically adopt AI to modernize outdated systems and strengthen public service delivery.