Is SaaS Dying as AI Agents Take Over

Published 2026-05-02 07-52

Summary

SaaS might be fading as AI agents and code helpers let people skip the software middleman and just describe what they want done.

The story

*AI-ish tells I’d clean up:*
– Four “Stage X” paragraphs create a tidy robot staircase.
– A few phrases sound market-y: “skill floor,” “commodity features,” “network effects.”
– The transitions are too clean, like a slide deck wearing jeans.
– Big claims need a touch more human discomfort.
– The ending turns a bit LinkedIn-y.

🟢 The Future of Software: Less Software

I’ve been chewing on an uncomfortable thought for anyone building SaaS right now. The thing we sell, software, may be fading. Not “getting disrupted,” with a keynote and a sad lanyard. Fading.

The first bit is already here. Copilot, Cursor, and Claude Code are making coding less like masonry and more like saying, “Hey machine, build the wall over there. No, not like a haunted shed.” Humans are moving from typing every brick into place to describing the thing they want.

The next bit gets awkward for SaaS folks. If a non-coder can make a form builder, internal dashboard, or tiny CRM in an afternoon, why keep paying per seat forever? The old moat was, “Building software is hard.” That moat is turning into damp dirt. Mid-tier tools with common features and no special data look exposed. Platforms with strong communities, private data, or regulatory handcuffs can sleep better. Yay for handcuffs, I guess.

Then comes the part poking me in the ribs at 2 a.m. Agents like OpenAI Operator, Perplexity Assistant, and Claude Computer Use aren’t only helping people make software. They’re doing the work the software was built to help with. The pattern changes from “tool I operate” to “agent I instruct.”

And then it gets weirder. If I can say, “Track my expenses and ping me when something looks weird,” I don’t need to live inside a spreadsheet. Software has been the middleman between wanting something and getting it done. Agents squeeze that gap until it starts making squeaky noises.

So what are we building: tools pe

For more from The Extinction of Software, visit
https://clearsay.net/the-extinction-of-software/.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, private keys, feelings, threats, and shouts of rage!

Based on https://clearsay.net/the-extinction-of-software/