The next generation of software may lack traditional user interfaces. Instead, they will be 'API-first' or 'agent-first,' integrating directly into existing workflows like Slack or email. Software will increasingly 'visit the user' rather than requiring the user to visit a dashboard.

To avoid becoming a valueless database that AI agents simply crawl, SaaS platforms must fundamentally change. The pivot is from being a UI for human data entry to becoming an orchestration layer where humans and agents collaborate, with agents becoming the primary focus of the user experience.

The number of AI agents will soon vastly exceed human employees. This requires a fundamental shift in software development, prioritizing API-first design, reliability, and machine-to-machine interaction over traditional human-centric user interfaces.

As users increasingly rely on AI agents, traditional graphical user interfaces will become obsolete. SaaS products must evolve to offer conversational interfaces that other agents can interact with directly. The primary user will shift from a human clicking buttons to another AI sending messages.

The traditional per-seat SaaS model is becoming a "tax on productivity" in an agent-driven world. As companies buy agents to do work instead of software for humans, the model shifts. Sam Altman's comment that every company is now an API company reflects this move from user-based pricing to value-based, programmatic access.

Altman predicts a volatile period for software, with both booms and sell-offs. The fundamental shift is that AI agents will interact with services via APIs, effectively turning every business into an API provider, whether they have a formal API strategy or not.

As companies integrate AI agents into their workflows, unrestricted API access to their own data is non-negotiable. SaaS providers that paywall or limit API access will be abandoned for more open platforms that don't hold customer data "ransom."

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.

SaaS products like Salesforce won't be easily ripped out. The real danger is that new AI agents will operate across all SaaS tools, becoming the primary user interface and capturing the next wave of value. This relegates existing SaaS platforms to a lower, less valuable infrastructure layer.