Winter ’25 is packed with powerful enhancements to help you and your business get more value from Salesforce. Let’s explore some of the best bits!
Lightning App Builder
- Configure Record Highlights in Lightning App Builder. The new ‘Dynamic Highlights Panel’ provides greater flexibility to highlight key pieces of information on any LWC-enabled Lightning Record Page. Display up to 12 fields and select desired actions. Available on LWC-enabled objects for both desktop and mobile.
- Make Record Fields Stand Out with Conditional Formatting. Apply conditional formatting on a Dynamic Forms-enabled Lightning Record Page (e.g. display icons, change value colours, etc).
Permissions, User Management & Sharing
- Get Insight into How a User’s Permissions Are Granted. Use the new ‘Access Granted By’ action in the User Access Summary to see how a permission has been granted to a user.
- Manage Details About a User in One Place. The ‘User Details’ section of the ‘User Access Summary’ is now editable.
- Make Inline Edits with the Enhanced User List View. View, sort and filter user records and use inline editing to help manage User records. Enabled via ‘User Management Settings’.
- See How Object Access Is Granted in Object Manager. The new read-only ‘Object Access’ page shows access levels granted by each Permission Set, Permission Set Group, and Profile. Ideal for reviewing access rights.
- Manage Public Group Membership More Easily. The Public Group Summary page has been enhanced to make it easier to view and manage (add/remove) Public Group membership.
- Add a Description for Public Groups. We can now add Descriptions to Public Groups. Ideal for adding a note about its purpose; especially if you have a large number of them!
Reports & Dashboards
- Add Calculated Fields to Your Lightning Reports with Einstein Generative AI. Use Einstein Report Formula Generation to create Summary and Row-Level Formulas via natural language (prompts).
- Do More with Custom Report Types (Beta). Streamline your use of Custom Report Types with List Views, a new setup Page and the flexibility to add up to 1,000 fields to a Report Type from lookup fields.
Sales
- Upgrade Your Service Account Connections to Org-Level OAuth 2.0 Authentication. If your business uses Einstein Activity Capture, turn on ‘org-level OAuth 2.0’ by February 2025 to avoid disruption.
- Optimize Your Strategic Planning with Account Plans. Account Plans provide a strategic canvas to help build and nurture relationships, assess SWOT, set objectives, and visualise stakeholder connections.
- Enhance Reporting Structure Visibility by Associating Person Accounts and Contacts with Each Other. Use the ‘Report To’ field on Person Accounts to associate Person Accounts with Contacts.
- Get Timely and Contextual Feedback on Your Terms. Use Einstein Coach to help sales users to practice and perfect their sales pitches for specific products/offerings.
Salesforce Flow
Salesforce Flow continues to be a treasure trove of new features. Here are some of the key updates.
User Experience Updates
- Troubleshoot Configuration Issues Systematically with the Errors and Warning Pane. The errors and warning pane helps you view and navigate to errors preventing you from saving or activating a Flow.
- Identify Inefficient Flow Designs with New Tips. Tips warn you of design choices which may cause your Flow to have performance issues or hit governor limits.
- See Scheduled Flows Limit in Debug Details. Easily view your daily scheduled flow limit within the debug screen.
Screen Flow Updates
- Provide a Better Screen Flow Experience with Action Buttons (Generally Available). Action Button component is now generally available with user experience, security and accessibility improvements.
- Collect User Input to Modify a List of Records from a Screen. The Repeater element now supports updating existing record collections.
- Disable More Screen Component Fields at Run Time. Additional field types can now be disabled on the: Action Button, Dependent Picklists, Lookup, Phone and Slider Components.
- Select Multiple Choices with Choice Lookup Component. Choose up to 25 values via the Choice Lookup component.
Einstein for Flow
- Get Help Creating Flow Formulas with Einstein (Beta). Use natural language to create formulas within Flow.
Flow actions and Elements
- Create or Update Records Efficiently with the Create Records Element. The ‘Create Records’ element can now perform ‘upsert’ style processing (i.e. create or update records) based on Record Id, External Id or Standard Field values.
- Expand Your Email Reach by Using CC and BCC Options in Send Email Action. Send emails to up to 150 recipients and CC or BCC via the Send Email Action.
Sandboxes
- Changes to Selective Sandbox Access for Developer and Developer Pro Sandboxes. Starting September 2024, a staggered enforcement of ‘Selective Sandbox Access’ will apply to Developer and Developer Pro sandbox creation and refreshes. Partial and Full Copy Sandboxes are exempt.
Service
Channel management
- Move Emails Easily to the Relevant Case. Allow agents to reparent an email to a different case. Requires Lightning Email Threading to be enabled.
- Empower Agents to Resolve Customer Issues Faster with Einstein Article Recommendations (Pilot). Provide agents real-time article recommendations in Voice Call or Messaging Sessions Record Pages.
- Gather More Service Support Insights with Additional Channels in Einstein Conversation Mining. Einstein Conversation Mining now supports WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Apple messages for Business. Use these channels and machine learning to generate reports showing the reason for contact.
- Activate, Deactivate and Refresh Enhanced Messaging Channels. Controls are now available to activate (send/receive messages), deactivate (pause messages) and refresh connections.
- Add a Description for Queues. There is now a description field for Queues.
Milestones and Entitlements
- Boost Service Efficiency by Automating Milestone Actions with Flows. Milestone actions now support Autolaunched Flows, alongside existing Task, Email Alert, Field Update and Outbound Message actions.
- Help Agents Prioritize Cases Effectively by Tracking Milestone Time. View the ‘Time to Next Milestone’ in Case List Views. Prioritise by sorting and filtering.
Setup and optimisation
- Discover Even More Service Capabilities with My Service Journey (Beta). Use ‘My Service Journey (Beta)’ to explore your org’s Service Cloud capabilities, upgrades, and learn more about features.
Other Updates
Here are some other noteworthy features and updates.
Apex
- Track Apex Unexpected Exceptions with Free-Tier Event Monitoring. To help with troubleshooting, the free event monitoring logs now include the ‘Apex Unexpected Exception Event’ type.
- Get More Coverage for Unexpected Exceptions in Apex Code Execution. ‘Apex Unexpected Exception’ now captures @AuraEnabled, @RestResource and @InvocableAction transactions.
- Understand SOQL Error and Functionality Changes to Update Your Code. Updates are being made to SOQL error handling. These changes may require updates to be made to Apex reliant on old error messages.
- Write Mock SOQL Tests for External Objects. Improve test coverage for External Objects by mocking SOQL query responses.
Change Data Capture
- Receive Change Event Notifications for More Objects. Change Data Capture (CDC) now tracks ~130 additional objects. This provides near-real-time events for record create, update, delete and undelete. There are no changes to CDC limit allocations.
CRM Analytics
- Download Directly from Dashboard Widget Action Menus. Download an image/export data directly from a widget menu of an enhanced CRM Analytics Dashboard without having to go into ‘Share’.
- Mark Downloaded Images and Exported Data as Confidential. Add a ‘Confidential Information – Do Not Distribute’ disclaimer on all downloaded images and exported data.
- Add Greater Precision to Your Queries with More Filter Operators. New filter operators available: Does Not Contain, Does Not Start With, Ends With and Does not End With.
- Launch a Flow with a Dashboard Interaction (Generally Available). Originally Beta in Winter ’24, launching Flows from a Analytics Dashboard is now Generally Available. Winter ’25 adds support for autolaunched flows, alongside screen flows from the Beta.
Data Cloud
- Data Cloud Setup is Streamlined. Setup for Data Cloud has been updated and can be accessed by any System Administrator user on an org with Data Cloud licensing. Previously, the ‘Data Cloud Admin Permission Set’ needed to be assigned.
Einstein Bots
- Understand Customers More Accurately with Strict Recognition (Generally Available). Set thresholds that limit how long a bot will spend on unclear messages (e.g. profanity, irrelevant content, etc).
- Run Flows in Bot User Context (Release Update). Winter ’25 enforces that flows invoked by a bot will run in user context (i.e. honouring access granted to the bot). Retest bots running flows before enforcement.
- Create and Verify Your Default No-Reply Organization-Wide Email Address to Send Email (Release Update). Orgs must set a default No-Reply email address before Winter ’25, or some emails may fail to send.
- Verify Your Return Email Address for Sender Verification (Release Update). Users must verify their email by Spring ’25 (via My Email Settings). Reminder emails will be sent each release until enforcement.
- Inbound Email Limit Increased. The number of inbound emails which can be queued now equals the daily email rate limit. Any emails which exceed this will bounce.
Field Service
Winter ’25 contains a large number of features for Field Service. Here are some of the main ones:
- Get a Daily Summary of Service Appointments that Require Immediate Attention. Use the Einstein Copilot Field Service Actions to summarise appointments requiring attention (rule violations, overlaps, emergencies, etc).
- Find Service Appointments Easily by Creating Search Filters in the Appointment List. Use the Einstein Copilot Field Service Action to generate filtered lists of Service Appointments requiring attention.
- Uncover Top Cancellation Reasons Easily (Beta). Use the ‘Summarise Service Appointment Notes’ Einstein Copilot Field Service Action to identify the main causes of cancellations. Copilot categorises reasons and themes to provide a summary.
- Field Service Mobile. Various features for the mobile app, including creating dynamic and responsive forms for data capture using Flow Builder, pausing notifications with standby mode, using geolocation to automatically launch flows, and colour-coded status markers on maps for Service Appointments.
Licensing
- Get Flexible Access to Custom Apps with the Salesforce Platform Login License. New license lets internal, low usage, users access custom apps with ‘per login’ pricing. Available from 15th October 2024.
List Views
- Get Better Performance for List Views on Custom and Standard Objects. List Views for Custom and Standard Objects now render as Lightning Web Components (LWC) instead of Aura. This is to improve performance and accessibility. User experience is largely the same, but be mindful of the slight UI/UX changes.
- Enforce View Roles and Role Hierarchy Permission When Editing Public List View Visibility (Release Update). Users will need the ‘View Role and Role Hierarchy’ permission to see Roles when editing Public List View visibility. Enforced in Spring ’25.
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
- Find and Merge Duplicate Prospect Records. Use the ‘Duplicate Prospect Tool’ in Optimizer to identify and merge duplicates.
OmniStudio
- Effortlessly Build OmniStudio Components By Using New Designers. New UI/UX for designing FlexCards, OmniScripts, Integration Procedures and Data Mappers (more consistent with other Salesforce tools).
- Easily Browse Through Omnistudio Components with List Views. OmniStudio components (e.g. FlexCards, OmniScripts, Integration Procedures and Data Mappers) can now be viewed and opened from List Views.
Phasing out of Third-Party Cookies
Marketers have been long preparing for the phasing out of third-party cookies. However, it is important to prepare for impacts to Salesforce orgs as Chrome and other browsers block third-party cookies.
- Add the New Setup Domain. If your company uses firewalls or allowlists to control access to the internet, ensure .salesforce-setup.com is allowed for continued access to Setup.
- Test Restrictions on Salesforce Cookie Use. Use the new ‘Require first-party use of Salesforce Cookies’ and ‘Allow cross-domain use of Salesforce Cookies on the preview domain’ to test the impact of blocking third-party cookies (e.g., custom code, etc).
Salesforce Archive
- Save on Storage and Boost Performance with Salesforce Archive. Native archiving solution. Use archive to move unused / expired records to lower-cost data storage, whilst retaining access. Create/schedule archiving policies and set the scope. View data in the Salesforce UI via Salesforce Connect.
Salesforce Connect
Salesforce Connect allows you to display and/or modify data from other orgs or external systems from within Salesforce. Winter ’25 includes some key updates:
- Enhance Your Custom Adapter for Salesforce Connect with More Data Types. The Custom Adapter now supports all External Object field types, including: Picklist, Multi-Select Picklists and Time.
- Salesforce Connect OData 2.0 Adapter HTTP Library Is Updated. The HTTP library that is used for the OData 2.0 adapter has been updated to use the OData4J Jersey HTTP library. It is advised to retest integrations.
Security, Identity and Privacy
- Update References to Your Previous Salesforce Domains. In Winter ’25, legacy URL redirects (from prior to enabling enhanced My Domains) will no longer work in non-Production environments. Legacy URLs will no longer work for Production in Spring ’25. Use Event Monitoring to track blocked redirections.
- Create an External Client App from App Manager. When creating a Connected App, there is now an option to create a ‘External Client App‘ instead. This is more secure and easier to manage and distribute.
- Forced Login Is Permanently Disabled. ‘Forced Logins’ passing username and password as URL parameters will be disabled. Check your org by reviewing Login History for ‘GET’ HTTP methods without a Login Subtype. Migrate any integrations to External Client Apps or Connected Apps.
Feature Retirements
There are several updates on feature retirements:
| Feature | Retirement Date |
|---|---|
| Externally Built Models in Einstein Discovery Are Retired | 31st July 2024 |
| Elevate Retirement | 1st October 2024 |
| Social Customer Service Starter Pack Is Being Retired | 16th November 2024 |
| Salesforce Functions Is Being Retired | 31st January 2025 |
| Einstein Automated Contacts Is Being Retired | February 2025 |
| Close Date Predictions Is Being Retired | Spring '25 |
| Standard-Volume Platform Events Are Being Retired | Summer '25 |
| Salesforce Platform API Versions 21.0 Through 30.0 Retirement (Release Update) | Summer '25 |
| Cadence Builder Classic (1.0) is Being Retired | Summer '25 |
| Embedded Flows Is Being Retired | 17th June 2025 |
| Embedded Appointment Management Is Being Retired | 17th June 2025 |
| The Campaign Member Status Chart is Being Retired | Winter '25 |
| foundationConnect Retirement | 31st January 2026 |
| Legacy Chat Is Being Retired | 14th February 2026 |
| Salesforce for Outlook Is Being Retired in December 2027 | December 2027 |
| Salesforce for Outlook (Retiring) | December 2027 |
Release Updates
Each release introduces core updates for performance, security, and usability. Winter ’25 has the following:
| Release | Type | Number of Changes | Areas Impacted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter '25 | Enforced (cannot be deactivated) | 13 | Einstein Activity Capture, Einstein Bots, Organization-Wide Email Addresses, Flows, Invocable actions, Conversation Intelligence (Service Cloud Voice), Guest User access, LinkedIn Lead Forms, Knowledge & External Client Apps. |
| Winter '25 | Automatically enabled (can be disabled until enforcement) | 1 | New Order Save Behaviour. |
| Spring '25 | Enforced (cannot be deactivated) | 11 | Content Security Policies, ICU Locale Formats, LWC Stacked Modals, Flow redirects, Apex, Permissions (View Role and Role Hierarchy), SAML SSO Frameworks and Email address sender verification. |
| Summer '25 | Enforced (cannot be deactivated) | 2 | Process Builder (bug fix) and Salesforce Platform API Version Retirement (21.0-30). |
| Winter '26 | Enforced (cannot be deactivated) | 2 | Field Service (Maintenance Plans) and Flows (Restrict User Access). |
NOTE: Release Updates are subject to change. The summary above is intended to help identify areas to prioritise. Always check the Release Updates in the Release Notes or refer to Release Updates in Setup for more info.
Summary
The Winter ’25 release provides many new features to help manage and optimise orgs. As always, check the release notes for more information and other features to help your org!
Until next time, thanks for reading! 🐧
Bonus Penguin Fact 🐧
The Northern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi) is native to southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Occasionally, they can be found slightly further afield!
Back in 2020, a Northern rockhopper penguin, given the name Pierre, was found ashore on a beach of South-Western Australia. This penguin was cared for and rehabilitated by staff at Perth Zoo. As Pierre could not return to the wild, he was eventually sent to Singapore Zoo to be cared for with fellow Northern rockhopper penguins.
Well, history now appears to be repeating itself! This year, another penguin, this time named Pascale, has been found washed up on a beach in South-Western Australia. The Team at Perth Zoo are caring for Pascale and, due to also not being able to be safely returned to the wild, it is likely she’ll be sent to Singapore Zoo, to meet Pierre and the rest of the Northern rockhopper penguins there.
Learn more here about Pascale and her journey to recovery here.
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