Following the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, large language models, copilots, and now agents over the past several quarters and years, investors have increasingly questioned the broader implications for businesses throughout the application software ecosystem. Investors and companies alike have sought to stress-test historical barriers to entry and competitive differentiation under this new paradigm. A common question that continues to surface in William Blair research analysts’ conversations centers on a simple premise: Does AI disrupt the reliance on the ways that enterprises leverage software applications? More specifically, our analysts are frequently asked what impact AI has on vertical models and whether it disintermediates or enhances the value proposition of industry-specific software applications.
In The Age of Embedded Intelligence: Vertical Software’s Foundational Role in an Agentic World, Dylan Becker, technology research analyst, answers both questions and highlights multiple key attributes we believe are underappreciated, related to vertical software’s role in an AI-oriented world.
For more information on William Blair’s technology, media, and communications equity research, contact us or your William Blair representative.