Legal AI startup Sandstone's approach shows that the model is a commodity. Real defensibility comes from creating a "context layer" that integrates data from CRM, CLM, and communications, giving the AI the business context required to be truly useful for in-house teams.

Otter.ai's technical edge comes from its proprietary speaker recognition model. Unlike competitors that struggle with multiple speakers in one room or background noise, Otter can accurately separate and identify individuals. This is critical for assigning action items and creating reliable meeting intelligence.

Since LLMs are commodities, sustainable competitive advantage in AI comes from leveraging proprietary data and unique business processes that competitors cannot replicate. Companies must focus on building AI that understands their specific "secret sauce."

Read AI's moat against Google, Microsoft, and Zoom isn't a single feature. It's the ability to act as a neutral, cross-platform layer. Since 60% of users operate across multiple video conferencing tools, a product that unifies this siloed data provides value the platforms themselves cannot.

An impressive AI capability, like a multi-language voice agent, is a differentiator that can be copied. Lasting defensibility is achieved not by the AI feature itself, but by embedding it within an end-to-end workflow that becomes the system of record for the user.

As AI makes building software features trivial, the sustainable competitive advantage shifts to data. A true data moat uses proprietary customer interaction data to train AI models, creating a feedback loop that continuously improves the product faster than competitors.

Creating a basic AI coding tool is easy. The defensible moat comes from building a vertically integrated platform with its own backend infrastructure like databases, user management, and integrations. This is extremely difficult for competitors to replicate, especially if they rely on third-party services like Superbase.

Tools like Granola.ai offer a key advantage by recording locally without joining calls. This privacy, combined with the ability to search across all meeting transcripts for specific topics, turns meeting notes into a queryable knowledge base for the user, rather than just a simple record.

Simply using AI provides no competitive advantage, as it's a widely available tool. A true, defensible moat is created by combining AI's capabilities with your unique domain expertise, proprietary processes, and established relationships. AI should augment your existing strengths, not replace them.