China remains one of the most complex and high-potential digital markets in the world. As global enterprises push forward with AI adoption, they face a unique set of regulatory, technical, and operational challenges in this market.

The July 2025 launch of AI-powered features for Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud (SFOA) marks a major milestone — giving companies a compliant, enterprise-grade foundation to activate Generative AI (GenAI) directly inside their local CRM system.

Executive Summary:

1. To succeed with AI in China, global companies must localize their GenAI and CRM strategies — adapting to local language, regulations, data residency laws, and integration with China’s digital ecosystem.

2. Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud offers a compliant, localized CRM foundation designed to meet China’s legal, technical, and operational requirements.

3. The July 2025 launch introduces localized AI features on Salesforce China — including customizable Prompt Builder and real-time access to compliant data sources.

4. Enterprises can onboard AI step-by-step, from identifying use cases to embedding GenAI into daily workflows using CRM data, custom prompts, and native Salesforce tools.

5. This launch marks a turning point for enterprise AI in China, empowering companies to scale AI securely, enhance personalization, and maintain full regulatory compliance.

Why Localized GenAI and CRM are Essential for the China Market

AI adoption globally is shifting from experimentation to execution. Enterprises are under pressure to personalize experiences, improve efficiency, and do more with less — and GenAI is a key lever to deliver on those mandates.

But in China, global AI playbooks cannot be applied out of the box. To realize AI’s potential in this market, companies must solve three interrelated challenges:

1. Language and Cultural Adaptation

Most global large language models (LLMs) are trained primarily in English, making them poorly suited for Chinese linguistic and cultural nuances.

Effective GenAI in China requires models that understand Chinese word segmentation, regional dialects, and local business context — otherwise, outputs may miss the mark or confuse users.

2. Regulatory and Data Compliance

In both China and the West, brands must ensure compliance with global and local regulatory frameworks. However, China’s digital ecosystem stands apart from the rest of the world, shaped by the Great Firewall and a distinct regulatory environment.

Handling data from China requires heightened caution, particularly due to the stringent Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL). This vigilance is especially critical in areas involving large-scale data processing.

PIPL requires that customer data be stored and processed within the country. This includes strict enforcement of cybersecurity, cross-border transfer, and cloud infrastructure regulations.

This means large language models must:

• Be hosted locally
• Support real-time content filtering
• Be registered with the Authorities if publicly deployed

Noncompliance can carry significant legal and reputational risk, making it critical to adopt AI platforms purpose-built for China.

3. Integration with Local Digital Platforms

China’s unique digital ecosystem, spanning messaging apps, social platforms, payment gateways, and cloud services, requires CRM systems to natively support local platforms — a capability only fully available in localized solutions.

Global CRMs lacking this adaptation will struggle with data silos and inefficient customer workflows.

Quick Overview of Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud

Recognizing these needs, Salesforce formed a strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud in 2023 — launching a fully localized version of its CRM platform hosted entirely in China.

Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud (SFOA or Salesforce China) is not just a data-hosted replica. It’s a version of Salesforce designed to meet China’s regulatory, language, and integration standards, including:

• Full data residency compliance (Salesforce CRM is hosted entirely on Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure)
• Native support for Chinese workflows and interfaces
• Seamless integration with local platforms

Since its entry, Salesforce has emerged as one of the top CRM solutions, enabling brands to build a centralized CRM in China that consolidates all data flows for more holistic user profiles.

Beyond adapting global solutions (i.e., Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, Platform), Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud (SFOA) includes exclusive China-specific components like the Connected Experiences Gateway (CXG), designed to integrate with local platforms like WeChat and enable a seamless loop across marketing, sales, and service.

This platform is now the basis for the July 2025 launch of AI capabilities, which will introduce GenAI features built specifically for the Chinese market.

July 2025 Launch: Localized AI for Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud

Designed specifically for the regulatory and operational landscape in China, the July 2025 GenAI rollout on Salesforce China will equip businesses with enterprise-grade tools to automate content, streamline workflows, and personalize engagement — without compromising compliance.

The new features include:

Secure Integration with Alibaba Cloud Model Studio

At the core of this release is the Internet Gateway AI Connector, which establishes a secure, out-of-the-box connection between Salesforce CRM and Alibaba Cloud’s AI development platforms — including the Bailian Platform and its visual Model Studio.

This enables enterprises to activate and manage LLMs directly inside their CRM workflows, with built-in support for compliance in cybersecurity, data handling, and content governance.

Out-of-the-Box & Customizable AI Prompt Builder

With Alibaba Cloud’s AI infrastructure integrated, brands can get access to Prompt Builder, one of Salesforce’s flagship AI features.

Brands can immediately deploy ready-made templates for high-frequency tasks such as sales outreach, service replies, and product content generation, which currently consume up to 41% of employee time, freeing teams to focus on higher-value work.

These templates are fully customizable and designed to be embedded directly into business processes.

Users can also create tailored prompts to meet complex use cases, ensuring that AI outputs align with both customer expectations and internal quality standards.

Data-Compliant & AI-Powered CRM

Most importantly, SFOA allows brands to leverage real-time AI features without storing input data — ensuring full regulatory compliance and data security for brands.

AI prompts can be configured to generate outputs based on enterprise data such as CRM records, unstructured content, external sources, or semantic search results, all securely hosted on Alibaba Cloud.

The content generated by AI can then be applied across Salesforce tools like Sales Cloud and Service Cloud to support marketing, sales, and customer service teams — helping teams automate responses, generate summaries, or enhance personalization.

By enriching prompts with this contextual data, enterprises can significantly boost the quality and relevance of AI responses across use cases.

How to Onboard AI in Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud

Salesforce China offers a clear framework for enterprises looking to integrate GenAI into their CRM workflows.

1. Identify high-impact business: Prioritize high-impact use cases where AI can create immediate value, like generating summaries, drafting customer-facing messages, or recommending products based on CRM insights.
2. Set up Alibaba Cloud Model Studio and CXG: Purchase and set up Alibaba Cloud Model Studio, then purchase CXG and register Model Studio within the Connected Experiences AI Gateway. 
3. Customize out-of-the-box prompt templates: Tailor out-of-the-box prompt templates to perform tasks, or build new ones tailored to their internal processes.
4. Connect business data securely: Ground AI prompts in relevant business data. This includes structured CRM records, unstructured content, and external sources — all hosted securely within Alibaba Cloud infrastructure.
5. Embed AI into operational workflows: Embed AI capabilities across everyday workflows in Salesforce Sales Cloud or Service Cloud to support operations on integrated local platforms like WeChat and WeCom. This ensures GenAI supports real business outcomes without disrupting existing systems or compliance practices.

By following this framework, enterprises can accelerate GenAI adoption while maintaining full control over security, data governance, and business continuity.

What This Means for Enterprise AI Adoption in China

The Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud update marks a critical turning point in enterprise AI in China. With compliant, localized GenAI now embedded into Salesforce, companies can:

• Ensure full legal and regulatory compliance from day one
• Accelerate operational efficiency by automating low-value, time-consuming tasks
• Personalize customer interactions using real-time, CRM-connected insights

Overall, this release still mainly focuses on GenAI use cases, assisting teams in creating content without altering core CRM data. But looking ahead, more advanced features can be expected in the future — including:

• In-depth AI-driven data analysis
• Predictive segmentation
• Real-time decision-making based on multi-dimensional insights

Brands must also optimize sales by recommending the right product to the right person at the perfect moment. As user preferences constantly evolve, predictive models need to anticipate these shifts dynamically, avoiding reliance on outdated trends.

For enterprises, this is more than a product launch — it’s a strategic opening. Early adopters can gain a first-mover advantage: activating personalization at scale while ensuring regulatory peace of mind.

But success depends on more than technology. To unlock real value, companies must:

• Break data silos
• Drive change management and standardized understanding of the right initiatives across the global and China teams
• Embed compliance and governance by design

At ITC, we are guiding many companies across different sectors (i.e., luxury retail, B2B, education, hospitality…) to onboard Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud and enhance their CRM operations in China.

Do not hesitate to reach out if you’d like to discuss how these updates could support your CRM and clienteling initiatives in China.