Users can now prompt an AI to build a custom version of a SaaS tool, tailored to their exact needs. This marks a shift towards personal, disposable software, which increases software's abundance while simultaneously eroding the moats of traditional SaaS businesses.

As AI makes the software itself easier to build and replicate, the durable value of a SaaS company is no longer the code. Instead, the moat lies in the customer relationship, the proprietary data, the system of record it represents, and the deep understanding of user workflows.

The "SaaS apocalypse" will target "beta" software—tools that make companies more similar to their competitors. Conversely, "alpha" software—platforms that allow a company to express its unique strategy and competitive advantage—will thrive as AI makes customization and differentiation easier.

According to Box CEO Aaron Levie, the stickiest SaaS products are those with strong network effects, deep integrations, and mission-critical workflows. A simple heuristic for vulnerability: if you can get the same value from a fresh install as a decade-old one, your product can be easily replaced by AI-generated software.

With AI agents in platforms like ChatGPT becoming the primary work surface, the traditional SaaS moat of owning the user interface is eroding. The most defensible position will be owning the core data as the "system of record," making the SaaS platform an essential backend database.

As AI agents become the primary users of software, interacting via APIs instead of graphical interfaces, the traditional moat of a sticky UI disappears. SaaS companies like Salesforce are going "headless," betting that future defensibility lies in the underlying data layer, operational logic, and real-world execution capabilities.

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.

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.

In a world where AI agents perform tasks, the value of a SaaS product is no longer its user-friendly interface but the robustness of its APIs. The core differentiator becomes the proprietary business logic, security, and data governance embedded within the API layer.