The AI wave won't necessarily kill major SaaS players like Salesforce. Instead, the competitive battleground is shifting to who can build the best new agentic interface for their existing platform. Incumbents are adapting quickly, challenging AI-native startups.

While AI can replicate the functionality of a SaaS tool, it doesn't replicate the company infrastructure: sales, customer support, trust, and brand. With venture funding for new SaaS startups drying up, it's harder than ever for new entrants to reach critical mass, thus protecting established incumbents.

Unlike the slow denial of SaaS by client-server companies, today's SaaS leaders (e.g., HubSpot, Notion) are rapidly integrating AI. They have an advantage due to vast proprietary data and existing distribution channels, making it harder for new AI-native startups to displace them. The old playbook of a slow incumbent may no longer apply.

Specialized SaaS companies like Writer and Intercom are moving beyond simply wrapping OpenAI or Anthropic APIs. They are now training their own foundation models to create more defensible, vertically-integrated AI products, signaling a shift away from platform dependency toward bespoke AI stacks.

Contrary to popular narrative, established companies hold a significant advantage over AI-native startups. Their vast proprietary data and deep, opinionated understanding of customer problems form a powerful moat. The key is successfully leveraging these assets to build unique, data-driven AI solutions, which can create a bigger advantage than a pure tech-first approach.

Unlike legacy businesses, SaaS companies can integrate AI without destroying their existing high-margin business. AI can improve their products and economics, allowing them to adapt quickly. Their company DNA is built for technological shifts like cloud, mobile, and now AI, which doesn't require gutting their cash cow.

AI doesn't kill all software; it bifurcates the market. Companies with strong moats like distribution, proprietary data, and enterprise lock-in will thrive by integrating AI. However, companies whose only advantage was their software code will be wiped out as AI makes the code itself a commodity. The moat is no longer the software.

The threat of AI models replicating SaaS features is real. Superhuman's defense isn't a superior core technology but a platform strategy. The bet is that users won't build their own tools if the platform offers a powerful network effect of pre-built, integrated agents that work everywhere, creating a defensible ecosystem.

Leading AI companies like Anthropic are positioning themselves as the infrastructure layer for intelligence, akin to how AWS provides infrastructure for computing. Their strategy is to partner with and enable existing SaaS companies, not to destroy them by competing directly at the application level.