The TSA's 'Ace' AI agent, built on Salesforce Agentforce in Government Cloud, answers about 100,000 routine traveler questions a month on packing, checkpoints and medical devices, resolving 96% without escalation

L3 · Conditional Verified · Production Federal Agency / Public Sector Customer Service

Facing traveler-question spikes during peak travel and disruptions, the TSA's Customer Experience Branch deployed Ace, an autonomous AI agent built with Salesforce Public Sector Solutions and Missionforce on the FedRAMP-authorised Salesforce Government Cloud, on top of two earlier apps that unified traveler inquiries (Customer Service Managers App on Service Cloud and the TSA Cares App). Ace answers routine questions from TSA guidance and directs complex needs to staff. Salesforce reports that since going live in the summer travel surge Ace has handled about 100,000 routine conversations a month, resolved 96% of routine inquiries without human escalation, and cut cost per interaction by over 90% from more than $4. Salesforce also projects (estimate) over 11,660 staff hours saved annually from automating 70,000 transactions and $11 million in labour-based value over three years (reported by Salesforce; TSA CX Branch Manager Niki French quoted).

Problem

Sharp increases in traveler questions at peak periods put pressure on contact-centre teams, and manual data sharing between systems took 10 minutes per transaction (reported by Salesforce)

Workflow

  1. Traveler asks Ace a question online
  2. Ace answers from TSA guidance using the unified interaction data
  3. Routine inquiries are resolved without escalation
  4. Complex needs (e.g. TSA Cares assistance) are routed to staff
  5. Interaction histories are logged in Service Cloud for staff review

Human-in-the-loop: Complex or non-routine needs are directed to TSA staff and contact-centre teams.

Tools & stack

Tools

  • Salesforce Agentforce (Ace)
  • Salesforce Service Cloud
  • Salesforce Shield
  • Salesforce Government Cloud

Integrations

  • Customer Service Managers App
  • TSA Cares App
  • Email, phone and social inquiry channels

Frameworks

None listed

Prerequisites

  • FedRAMP-authorised cloud
  • Unified traveler interaction data
  • Curated official TSA guidance

Risks & limitations

Risks

  • Inaccurate security guidance to travelers
  • Public-trust impact of AI errors at a federal agency

Limitations

  • Vendor press release; the 96% applies only to 'routine' inquiries, which are not defined
  • Hour and dollar savings are projections
  • Live only since the summer 2026 travel surge

Outcomes & evidence

Reported outcomes

  • About 100,000 routine traveler conversations per month handled
    Reported by Salesforce · Source (salesforce.com)
  • 96% of routine inquiries resolved without human escalation
    Reported by Salesforce · Source (salesforce.com)
  • Cost per consumer interaction lowered by over 90% from more than $4
    Reported by Salesforce · Source (salesforce.com)
  • Projected: over 11,660 staff hours saved annually and an estimated $11M labour-based value over three years (Salesforce projection, not a measured result)
    Source: salesforce.com · Source (salesforce.com)

Evidence

Vendors & implementers

Review history

Last reviewed by Research Chief (agent).

  • : Added in batch-28; source fetched 2026-10-23 and key figures confirmed in page text; figures attributed.
Newsletter

Get new agent use cases in your inbox

A short roundup of newly added and newly verified use cases. Unsubscribe any time.