The "SaaSpocalypse" is not an indiscriminate event. A clear divergence is emerging between SaaS companies that are successfully integrating AI to strengthen their business models and those legacy companies that are unable to pivot, becoming "sloppable."

Just as YouTube lowered media distribution costs, AI is lowering software development costs. This could shift the SaaS market away from large, one-size-fits-all platforms toward a model where small, elite teams deliver highly customized software solutions directly to enterprise clients.

AI tools enable users to create bespoke applications tailored to their needs. This shift towards personalized software challenges the one-size-fits-all SaaS model, potentially rendering many subscription products obsolete and causing market underperformance, as seen in the Morgan Stanley SAS index.

AI is becoming the new UI, allowing users to generate bespoke interfaces for specific workflows on the fly. This fundamentally threatens the core value proposition of many SaaS companies, which is essentially selling a complex UX built on a database. The entire ecosystem will need to adapt.

For decades, buying generalized SaaS was more efficient than building custom software. AI coding agents reverse this. Now, companies can build hyper-specific, more effective tools internally for less cost than a bloated SaaS subscription, because they only need to solve their unique problem.

Ben Thompson's analysis suggests the era of siloed SaaS growth is over. With AI enabling infinite software creation, companies will be forced to attack adjacent business functions to grow. This shifts the market from collaborative expansion to a competitive battle for existing customer spend, with AI model providers as the key "arms dealers."

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.

AI is not killing B2B SaaS, but it is fundamentally changing the competitive landscape by making software easier to build. This commoditizes core features, forcing existing SaaS companies to develop unique, defensible moats beyond just code to protect themselves against a new wave of competitors who can quickly "vibe code" similar solutions.

AI may drastically lower the cost of software engineering, threatening the dominant SaaS model by enabling companies to affordably build bespoke in-house software, mirroring the current market dynamics in China.