February 13, 2026
Salesforce Acquires Cimulate to Advance AI-Powered Product Discovery in Retail Commerce
Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cimulate, an emerging technology company specialising in AI-powered product discovery and agentic commerce. The acquisition advances Salesforce’s push to replace keyword-based search with intent-driven product discovery in retail.
Upon completion of the deal, Cimulate’s technology and specialist team will be integrated into Agentforce Commerce, Salesforce’s AI-driven commerce platform, where it will accelerate improvements across search, personalisation, and conversational shopping experiences.
Filling the Gaps in E-Commerce Discovery
The limitations of traditional product search have long been a friction point in the retail customer experience. Keyword-based engines require shoppers to match the exact language of a product catalogue, which routinely fails to reflect how people actually browse and buy. The result is poor relevance, missed conversions, and shoppers who leave for competitors with more intuitive experiences.
Cimulate’s platform deploys an intent-aware context engine that combines real and simulated shopper journey data to better understand what a shopper is looking for, in addition to what they have typed. This approach enables more relevant search results and more personalised discovery experiences across the entire commerce journey, from initial browse through to purchase decision.
Nitin Mangtani, SVP & GM for Commerce and Retail at Salesforce, outlined the strategic rationale: “The future of commerce is agentic, moving beyond simple transactions to intuitive, conversational discovery. By integrating Cimulate’s technology into Agentforce Commerce, we’re helping retailers close the gap between shopper intent and action, delivering experiences that feel more natural, relevant, and effective.”
Strategic Fit Within Salesforce’s Agentic Commerce Vision
This acquisition is the latest in a series of moves that reflect Salesforce’s deliberate expansion of its agentic AI capabilities. Earlier this year, Salesforce acquired Convergence.ai to strengthen how AI agents operate across complex digital environments, part of a broader effort to build a cohesive, intelligent platform rather than a collection of isolated features.
Agentforce itself continues to evolve at a pace. Agentforce 2.0, launched in late 2024, expanded the platform’s integration across the Salesforce ecosystem, introduced enhanced partner skills, and deepened its analytical capabilities through Tableau. Retailers were identified as primary beneficiaries from the outset. The addition of Cimulate now equips commerce agents with a significantly more sophisticated understanding of shopper intent, enabling them to respond in ways that are genuinely contextual rather than merely automated.
John Andrews, CEO and Co-Founder of Cimulate, commented on the deal: “Joining Salesforce allows us to scale our technology and put it in the hands of the world’s leading retailers. Together, we can help brands move beyond legacy search to experiences that truly understand what shoppers are looking for and respond in real time.”
Beyond the technology, the acquisition brings Cimulate’s specialist team to Salesforce, strengthening expertise in intent-aware and contextual search for e-commerce and retail, and reinforcing the company’s capacity for continued innovation in this space.
