TL;DR: While you're adding AI features, startups are building agent-first platforms that eliminate seats entirely. Your deep problem knowledge is your moat—if you're brave enough to cannibalize your own model.
Brett Taylor saw this coming. The man who co-created Google Maps, invented the Like button, and led engineering at both Facebook and Salesforce, shared a stark prediction on Lenny's podcast:
"The whole market is going to go towards outcomes-based pricing. It's just so obviously the correct way to build and sell software."
He's not talking about adding chatbots to your SaaS. He's talking about fundamentally rethinking what software does.
"Software is going from helping an individual be slightly more productive to actually accomplishing a job autonomously," Taylor explained.
That's not an enhancement. That's a replacement.
The Question That Changes Everything
Every SaaS founder asks: "Our competitors are adding AI features. What's our AI strategy?"
Wrong question.
The right question: "What job are our customers actually trying to get done?"
Because the SaaS companies winning aren't the ones adding AI features. They're the ones rebuilding their entire value proposition around agents that actually do the job.
From Tools to Workers
Take project management software. The old model helped humans manage projects better—dashboards, notifications, collaboration features.
The emerging model is agents that actually manage projects:
Identifying blockers before they cause delays. Coordinating resources without human orchestration. Chasing updates so managers don't have to. Learning from patterns to optimize future workflows.
When agents do the job instead of just helping with it, everything changes—especially your business model.
The Pricing Revolution Is Already Here
Forward-thinking SaaS companies are experimenting:
Per contract reviewed (instead of per legal seat)
Per issue resolved (instead of per support agent)
Per workflow completed (instead of per user license)
Per qualified lead generated (instead of per marketing seat)
Your customers don't want better tools. They want problems solved.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Your customers are starting to ask uncomfortable questions:
"Why do we need 50 seats when 5 agents could do the work?"
"Why are we paying per user when the software could just do the job?"
These aren't hypothetical future concerns. A 50-person startup just won a seven-figure enterprise deal by demonstrating agents that actually complete the job your software only helps with.
They're not building better project management software. They're building agents that manage projects.
They're not enhancing CRM functionality. They're building agents that handle entire sales processes.
Your Advantages (That Won't Last)
You have a narrow window where your advantages still matter:
Deep problem knowledge - You understand the nuances, edge cases, and real workflows. Pure-play AI companies are guessing.
Existing customer relationships - Your customers trust you and will partner with you on this transition.
Domain expertise - Your team doesn't just understand technology—you understand the problem.
Real workflow data - You have actual usage patterns, not theoretical use cases.
But these advantages expire if you don't act on them.
The Replatforming Path
Identify the core job your software helps accomplish. Get specific about what success looks like.
Design job-completing agents that own entire outcomes, not just pieces.
Test outcome-based pricing with friendly customers. Measure what matters to them, then price accordingly.
Use customers as design partners. Your existing customers are your secret weapon for defining what "done" looks like.
Launch gradually. Offer both models during transition—traditional SaaS for the risk-averse, agent-based pricing for early adopters.
Hold Problems Tight, Solutions Loose
The problems you solve are eternal. How agents solve them changes monthly.
Six months ago, we built agents one way. Today, completely different approaches work better. Six months from now? The technical stack will evolve again.
But your customer still needs their problem solved. Focus on deeply understanding that job, not on perfecting any particular technical approach.
The Courage Question
The real barrier isn't technical—it's courage.
Do you have the courage to cannibalize your own business model?
Do you have the courage to rebuild your platform around agents instead of just adding AI features?
Because if you don't, someone else will.
The Competitive Reality
Taylor's warning should terrify and motivate you: "The window for first-mover advantage is measured in months, not years."
While you're debating whether to add AI features, competitors are rebuilding entire platforms around agents.
Your customers don't want better tools. They want problems solved.
The SaaS companies brave enough to rebuild around that truth are going to own the next decade.
Ready to explore what agent-first replatforming could mean for your business? Your problem knowledge is your moat—but only if you use it to build the future instead of enhance the past.
 | A guest post by
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