In a world where AI agents are 2.5-3x as productive as humans, which would parallel mechanical robots, how does a software company price?

Building on yesterday’s post, pricing in software companies may change significantly when AI agents become the norm.

The SaaS business model of the last 20 years for SaaS is a beautiful one. Annual prepaid contracts are free loans to software companies ; seat-based pricing is a tangible metric for pricing ; as a client grows so does this account, producing good net dollar retention.

What does a software seat mean when a human is no longer operating the software?

There a few alternatives :

1. Triple the per seat price : If the AI agent is 3x as productive as a human, the software company could charge 3x as much per seat. This would be a significant increase in price, but the value of the software would be much higher. Tripling prices will be a hard sell in a year but perhaps a slow increase over time would achieve this. Companies will need to adjust staffing plans & budgets.
2. Move to usage-based pricing : Jamin makes the case that AI software will be priced like databases since the AI is using the database directly. Just as databases charge for compute, AI agents will charge for compute. This aligns value well, but may inject unpredictability into the pricing model. It will require changing sales compensation plans & customer contracts, which database companies have navigated successfully. Buyers would need to be educated.¹
3. Pay for performance : Some AI companies are exploring charging for outcomes. If an AI agent replaces an SDR who is compensated for meetings, then why not charge this way? There are challenges here too. If the company doesn’t use the product in the most optimal way & performance suffers, should the contract shrink in value?

It will take time for both vendors & customers to grasp the implications for both productivity & expense.

But for the first time since Slack started offering billing on active seats, new pricing models provide a strategic option to startups looking to compete with incumbents.

Salesforce made famous the No-Software mantra competing on pricing.

The now-classic seat based model disrupted the perpetual license model. Perhaps usage or performance pricing will be the catalyst for a new era of upstarts displacing incumbents.

Maybe we’ll see a No-SaaS rebel replicate Marc Benioff’s playbook.

¹I imagine both usage-based pricing and pay for performance will be structured as a Two-Part Tariff with some base level of commitment to smooth revenue & cash flows.