Sales is changing. Fast. We’ve talked about AI a lot recently, and that’s because it’s literally...
Picture this: it’s a crisp morning, you’ve got your coffee in hand, and you log into Salesforce expecting business as usual. Instead, your dashboard looks slightly off. A button you rely on daily? Missing. A flow you painstakingly built? Throwing errors. Users? Ping, ping, ping—your inbox is already lighting up like a holiday tree.
Welcome to the nightmare of an untested Salesforce release update.
Salesforce does us all a favor by pushing out three seasonal releases a year—Spring, Summer, and Winter. Every release comes packed with shiny new features, performance improvements, and sometimes, an occasional curveball. To keep up, many teams lean on smooth release management with Salesforce DevOps and CI/CD, which makes these seasonal shifts far less chaotic.
It’s a pretty cool software upgrade you don’t have to pay for, but there’s one small catch: if you don’t prepare, your Salesforce Production org could wind up in chaos.
And here’s the date you need circled in red: the Salesforce Winter ’26 Release begins rolling out to Production the weekend of September 19, 2025, with additional phases on October 3 and October 10.
What to Expect in the 2026 Salesforce Winter Release
So, what’s the antidote? A little thing we like to call the Update Readiness Check (Salesforce calls it Release Readiness, but we think our name is catchier). After all, regular Salesforce health checks keep your org ready for releases and ensure you’re not blindsided by changes.
The updates aren’t just “bug fixes and performance improvements” buried in fine print. There are some impactful updates you’ll want to test against your org before they hit Production.
6 Salesforce Features That Are Actually Changing in Winter '26
Here are six changes confirmed by Salesforce and trusted ecosystem experts:
- AI-powered account research
- Einstein record summary: out-of-the-box Salesforce feature
- List view glow-up
- Email activity syncing
- Flow automation boosts
- Security tightening
1. AI-Powered Account Research
Generative AI now supports account planning with one-click field updates. Available with Agentforce Sales or Industry add-ons; rolling out the week of October 3, 2025.
2. Einstein Record Summary: Out-of-the-Box Salesforce Feature
A new out-of-the-box component for Account, Opportunity, Contact, and Lead pages. Get instant AI-generated summaries, available since August 5, 2025 (with the right licensing).
3. List View Glow-Up
Multi-column sorting is finally here (GA), along with type-ahead search for customizing list views.
4. Email Activity Syncing
Einstein Activity Capture emails now sync as Salesforce Activities (Task and EmailMessage), which means they’re finally reportable.
5. Flow Automation Boosts
Step-by-step debugging for Screen Flows and Record-Triggered Flows, version comparisons, and even a theme picker for Screen Flows. If you’ve been following along with our thoughts on why Salesforce Flow Builder is the future of automation, this update makes that case even stronger.
6. Security Tightening
Apex actions in Flows now respect user permissions—no more silent overrides. Maintenance Plans are shifting from Frequency/Frequency Type fields to new Maintenance Work Rules. And the legacy FlowSites permission is deprecated; users now require explicit access. It’s all part of the balance between innovation and compliance—something we’ve explored in our work on balancing innovation and compliance in Salesforce.
None of these are “nice to haves.” They’re impactful enough that you’ll want to run them through their paces in a sandbox before go-live.
Preview-Level & Emerging Salesforce Updates (Things to Watch)
Now, Salesforce doesn’t reveal everything up front. However, as we look at Salesforce community previews, blogs, and analyst commentary, they all point to some larger themes emerging beyond the Winter ’26 release.
These updates aren’t fully documented in Salesforce’s official release notes yet—think of them as emerging trends rather than confirmed features—and they’re worth keeping on your radar:
- Zero Trust Security Enhancements: Expect Salesforce to continue tightening encryption, session control, and auditability across Flows, Apex, and APIs.
- Agentforce Expansion: Deeper Einstein integrations and cross-cloud orchestration are on the horizon as Agentforce continues to mature.
- Data Cloud & Informatica Integration: With Salesforce’s acquisition of Informatica in motion, the groundwork is already there for stronger metadata governance, data lineage, and MDM inside Data Cloud. It’s another signal of how AI in Salesforce drives real ROI.
- Service Cloud AI: Salesforce is piloting more intelligent recommendations for knowledge and content delivery, which could eventually change how support teams operate.
These “coming attractions”—consider them industry “watch items,” not confirmed features—aren’t ready for prime time yet, but the direction of travel is clear.
Why Testing in a Salesforce Sandbox is Still Your Golden Ticket + A Salesforce Winter '26 Release Checklist
Here’s the deal: before Winter ’26 rolls out to your Production org, Salesforce updates sandboxes on preview instances starting September 5, 2025.
And trust us, you want to take that test drive.
A sandbox lets you:
- Kick the tires on AI features like Einstein Record Summary and Account Research.
- Spot the gremlins in your automations now that Apex permission checks are enforced.
- Train your team on shiny new features (multi-sort list views, anyone?) without disrupting live business.
It’s the same philosophy behind the MVP approach to Salesforce rollouts—start small, test safely, then scale.
Pro tip: Not every sandbox gets preview access by default. Check Salesforce’s Sandbox Preview Instructions to confirm that you have the upgrade; otherwise, you’ll be testing only after Production is live.
The Proactive Approach Beats the Fire Drill
Think about the alternative: waiting until after September 19, when Winter ’26 hits Production. That’s when the fire drills start—late-night troubleshooting, frantic Slack threads, and very little actual productivity.
A proactive Update Readiness Check flips the script. You get to fix potential problems on your terms, before they ever affect your team. And here’s the silver lining: instead of scrambling to put out fires, you’ll be able to take advantage of the new features right away. Boom! You’re the hero who rolls out shiny new capabilities that make your sales, service, and marketing teams swoon.
Use the Salesforce Winter Release to Improve Your Processes
Look, Salesforce Winter ’26 isn’t out to get you. In fact, it’s packed with tools that can make your business run smoother, smarter, and faster. But if you walk into it blind, you risk turning upgrades into headaches.
A readiness check isn’t busywork. It’s your insurance policy against production meltdowns. It’s the difference between your Monday morning starting with a high-five or a hair-pulling session.
How to Take Advantage of the Salesforce Winter '26 Release
At Dynamic Specialties Group, we’ve helped clients sail through countless Salesforce releases with barely a ripple. Our secret? Test first, communicate early, and treat each release like the opportunity it is—not the crisis it could be.
So, before you sip that second cup of coffee and assume “we’ll deal with it later,” take a moment. Fire up that sandbox. Run the readiness check. Future-you (and your Salesforce users) will thank you.
And hey—if you’d rather skip the guesswork and get some expert backup? Talk to DSG today and make Winter ’26 your smoothest Salesforce release yet. It’s just one more example of why working with a Salesforce Partner delivers ROI.
