The two-decade reign of the seat-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) model is facing a major threat from AI agents—and software stocks are already feeling the pain. 

• CRM stock is slipping. See the chart and price action here. 

Customers paid for a software license, logged in and manually moved data.

The rise of Anthropic's Claude Cowork, OpenAI's autonomous Codex agents, and upcoming Operator are making the per-license metric less relevant. 

When a single AI agent can orchestrate pipelines and execute outreach across platforms, the need for 500 individual CRM licenses evaporates.

In what feels to some like a science fiction novel, people are experimenting with agents like Clawdbot, Moltbot and now Openbot — open-source personal AI agents that run on local machines to manage files, send emails and browse the web. 

These agents have even developed custom software to perform tasks when no alternative was readily available.  

The Breakdown

Here's a breakdown of how agentic AI could crush legacy software companies:

• The CRM Black Hole: Salesforce grew by being the mandatory “place where data lives.” Cross-platform agents can now read the entire company's data—Slack, email, PDFs, and calendar—without a human needing to “log a call” or “update a stage” in a CRM.

The New Operating System

Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti recently noted that tech is entering a phase where AI models function as the new operating system and the "agent-as-a-service" model could replace software-as-a-service. 

"In my 40 years in technology, 2025 saw the biggest changes I have seen in my career," Argenti said. "And what's crazy is we haven't seen anything yet—in fact, I predict 2026 will be an even bigger year for change."

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