AI is Already Remaking SaaS. 10 Trends To Watch Right Now. And Not Fall Behind On. (2025)

AI is already reshaping B2B SaaS, and it’s only going to accelerate. Here’s what I think is happening and what’s next:

#1. AI is Table Stakes Now. Now It’s Time to Make It S-Tier.

AI isn’t a differentiator anymore per se —it’s the baseline. Customers expect AI to be baked into your product, whether it’s automating workflows, improving onboarding, or delivering predictive insights. If your product doesn’t have AI capabilities, it’s going to feel outdated fast. But just slapping AI onto your product isn’t enough. It has to deliver real, tangible value. Mediocre AI won’t cut it.

#2. Customer Expectations Are Skyrocketing

AI has raised the bar for what customers expect from software. They want everything to be faster, smarter, and more automated. Onboarding should feel seamless, emails should write themselves, and insights should be delivered without lifting a finger. This means your product has to be 2–5x better than it was even 12 months ago. That’s a tough bar, but it’s the new reality. Good Enough soon won’t be.

#3. Freemium and PLG Models Will Thrive

AI is driving a renaissance in freemium and product-led growth (PLG) models. Why? Because AI can make onboarding and initial usage so intuitive that customers can see value almost instantly. If you’re not leaning into PLG, you’re missing a huge opportunity to let your product sell itself in this new era.

#4. AI Will Deflate Pricing in Some Areas

AI is making some categories of software look expensive. For example, tools that rely heavily on manual processes or human intervention are being disrupted by AI-driven alternatives that are faster and cheaper. If your product doesn’t leverage AI to improve efficiency or reduce costs, you might find yourself underpricing pressure.

#5. Gross Margins Will Improve for AI-Driven SaaS. Don’t Let Costs Be an Excuse.

AI is also transforming the economics of SaaS. For companies that have figured out how to integrate AI effectively, gross margins are improving as the cost of AI inference drops. This is a big deal for scaling companies—it means you can deliver more value at a lower cost, which is a competitive advantage. And everyone I work closely with in B2B with a large AI cost base (Gorgias, Opus Pro, etc) has already figured out how to be smarter and bring costs down 80% or more.

#6. AI Needs To Fill the Gap Where There Are No Humans Willing to Do The Work (Anymore)

Many industries just can’t find anyone to hire. At Procore, there just aren’t enough humans to staff construction sites. At MangoMint, there aren’t enough workers to staff the front desk at spas and salons. AI needs to solve this problem. If you don’t, the competition will.

#7. Winners Will Be Hyper-Functional

The winners in B2B SaaS will be the ones who go beyond just adding AI—they’ll build hyper-functional products that solve real problems better than anyone else. This means investing heavily in R&D and hiring top-tier talent to make your AI capabilities truly world-class. It’s not enough to be good—you have to be exceptional.

#8. CoPilots, But Everywhere. Even IRL. Maybe Especially.

We talk a lot about copilots, but in many cases they are just a new version of chat in B2B. But think differently. Think about every single customer interaction with a human also having an S-tier co-pilot. There should be no more mediocre customer interactions. AI in B2B today is often about efficiency. That’s not good enough. It will be about making every interaction much better. Does your AI do that?

#9. Every Interface Will Likely Be a Unified Chat / Voice or Similar

Are you ready for this? Or are you still focused on users input data? We are all becoming prompt engineers now. Your interface here should be great. And front and center.

#10. Your AI Needs To Be Awesome. Is It?

Try the new SaaStr AI. It really, at least sometimes, is incredible. It knows 10+ years of SaaStr content. Not just mine. But how the CROs of Wiz, Databricks, Toast, Cloudflare, and more sell. And how the CEOs of Monday, HubSpot, Rippling and more scale. And how they think. Your AI needs to be at least this good.

AI is forcing every SaaS company to level up.

If you’re not thinking about how to integrate AI into your product and business model and make it truly 10x better, you’re already behind. But for those who embrace it, the opportunities are massive. The next generation of SaaS leaders will be the ones who figure out how to harness AI to deliver 10x better solutions.

And we’ll do a deep dive on this for 3 days (!) at 2025 SaaStr Annual, May 13-15 in SF Bay. Join Us. Or … Fall Behind.