The two-decade reign of the seat-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) model is facing a major threat from AI agents—and software stocks are already feeling the pain.
For years, giants like Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) and ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) grew by building walled gardens of complex software interfaces designed for human interaction.
Customers paid for a software license, logged in and manually moved data.
The rise of Anthropic's Claude Cowork, OpenAI's autonomous Codex agents, and upcoming Operator are making the per-license metric less relevant.
When a single AI agent can orchestrate pipelines and execute outreach across platforms, the need for 500 individual CRM licenses evaporates.
In what feels to some like a science fiction novel, people are experimenting with agents like Clawdbot, Moltbot and now Openbot — open-source personal AI agents that run on local machines to manage files, send emails and browse the web.
These agents have even developed custom software to perform tasks when no alternative was readily available.
The Breakdown
Here's a breakdown of how agentic AI could crush legacy software companies:
- The Valuation Gap: Companies like Snowflake, Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) and Intuit, Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) command premiums based on high-margin subscriptions. As AI bots begin to perform automated accounting or even code their own programs directly via API, the need to purchase high-priced software disappears.
- Skill-Gating: Adobe, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) sells subscriptions to Creative Cloud because customers needed specialized tools to execute complex designs. Marketing teams can prompt an agent to “Generate 50 variants of this ad for every social platform and run the A/B test.” When the agent handles the pixels, the need for a massive suite of manual editing tools—and the expensive licenses that come with them—diminishes.
- The CRM Black Hole: Salesforce grew by being the mandatory “place where data lives.” Cross-platform agents can now read the entire company's data—Slack, email, PDFs, and calendar—without a human needing to “log a call” or “update a stage” in a CRM.
The New Operating System
Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti recently noted that tech is entering a phase where AI models function as the new operating system and the "agent-as-a-service" model could replace software-as-a-service.
"In my 40 years in technology, 2025 saw the biggest changes I have seen in my career," Argenti said. "And what's crazy is we haven't seen anything yet—in fact, I predict 2026 will be an even bigger year for change."
Photo: Shutterstock
