Salesforce: Introduction to "Einstein for Developers (Beta)"
AI – two letters, but everyone perceives them differently. Some are thrilled by the advancement of technology, while others approach it with a degree of skepticism. However, regardless of opinions, with the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), everything evolves and changes.
The essence of progress and evolution is that if humanity were afraid of new technologies, we would still be plowing fields with oxen and lighting our homes with candles.
Although the stage when AI can fully replace people, such as programmers or designers, has not yet arrived, we have reached the point where AI is indeed a powerful tool, and in skilled hands, it can create magic.
They even jokingly came up with a term – "GPT-programmer," meaning a programmer who doesn't write code by themselves but does so with the help of ChatGPT.
Almost every other startup is related to AI, with many companies striving to be the first to implement these innovations into their technologies.
Salesforce also joined the trend, and in 2016, they announced Einstein AI, an integrated artificial intelligence platform for all Salesforce products, providing users with the ability to automate processes, gain insights from data, and make predictions.
With each release, Einstein improved, leading to the announcement of Einstein for Developers (Beta) in 2023.
This plugin is part of the Salesforce Einstein GPT functionality extension, which allows developers to leverage artificial intelligence capabilities to automate tasks directly within development environments such as Visual Studio Code.
Currently, Einstein for Developers is only available in scratch org versions that can create Apex, specifically in:
However, you may ask – why should I use Einstein for Developers when I can simply submit this query to ChatGPT or Gemini?
A very valid question, and one can draw an analogy with car tires – you can drive on "summer tires" in icy conditions, but it will be more comfortable on "winter tires" because there will be better road grip and more control over the car.
Similarly, the key feature of Einstein is that it is deeply integrated with Salesforce and specifically designed for SF.
Einstein for Developers supports all Salesforce-specific tools, APIs, languages (such as Apex, Visualforce, LWC), and functionality, which allows for more accurate and contextual recommendations during development, with a lower likelihood of missing certain nuances of the platform's operation.
(Anyone who has tried using ChatGPT when writing Apex code knows how a seemingly good piece of code at first glance can throw an error. You tell it, "Chat, something's wrong here, the system is giving an error", and it replies, "Oh, indeed, this is available in Java but not in Apex").
No less important is the fact that using the Einstein for Developers plugin in VS Code ensures workflow continuity. You don't need to switch between environments or tools, then copy and paste code; you get all the necessary recommendations and assistance directly in your development environment.
At first glance, it's a small thing, but when the workflow is in full swing, unnecessary movements only distract.
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For example:
The built-in autocomplete feature. Remember how in computer science lessons we used to write HTML code in "Notepad", without syntax highlighting or autocomplete?
Although it was difficult and sometimes inconvenient, it was such a joy when it worked, and you could see "your first website" in the browser window :D
When we moved to editors with the Emmet plugin - providing autocomplete with a few keystrokes - it became incredibly pleasant! The situation here is similar:
Another positive aspect of Einstein for Developers is privacy and security. Especially recently, as we occasionally see information about how certain language models have been trained on confidential user data, etc.
In the case of Einstein for Developers, the same security and privacy measures are used as on the Salesforce platform. And we know how Salesforce values and protects our data and its reputation.
If we are talking about process automation, Einstein for Developers will better help in creating a Trigger, unlike its "cousin" tools, which may provide information in general terms, and if it's code, it may not always consider all aspects of the platform.
Similarly with writing Test Coverage for our code.
Unit tests must cover at least 75% of your Apex code, and all these tests must pass successfully for your code to be deployable or packaged for AppExchange.
And of course – Salesforce is constantly updating, and this also applies to Einstein for Developers – with new platform releases, updates are also coming here. This means you will always have access to the latest features and recommendations that fully align with the current state of Salesforce.
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Conclusion
Using Einstein for Developers makes sense when you want specialized, deeply integrated assistance for working with Salesforce while maintaining workflow continuity and high data security.
However, it's worth not dismissing tools like ChatGPT or Gemini, which also have their advantages, especially if you need broad support or help with tasks beyond Salesforce.
The choice between these tools depends on the specific needs of your project and personal preferences, but regardless, progress is moving forward, and over time, Einstein AI products will become increasingly integrated into Salesforce.
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