The Deadly "AI Slow Roll" Threatens SaaS Survival

A concerning trend, the "AI slow roll," is emerging in the SaaS landscape. Companies hesitant to adopt AI are falling behind. This reluctance will determine the winners and losers in the coming months.

Common excuses for delaying AI implementation include: ongoing evaluations, concerns about AI maturity, and a perceived preference for human interaction. However, these are often masks for inaction.

The Best Are Already 50% Automated

While some SaaS companies hesitate, their competitors are transforming operations with AI. Leading tech companies automate up to 50% of code production. Even established enterprises like Salesforce achieve 20% automation. The gap between AI-native and AI-hesitant companies widens weekly.

The ROI of AI is clear. Companies using AI at scale see 30-40% higher engineering productivity, 25% faster sales cycles, and improved customer satisfaction.

Salesforce: 20% of All New Code Is Already Written With AI

"Hallucinations" Are No Excuse

Concerns about AI "hallucinations" are often a cover for a lack of commitment. Companies successfully deploying AI address this through proper training, fine-tuning, exception handling, human escalation paths, and starting with non-critical use cases.

Competitors are iterating towards AI excellence while hesitant companies remain stuck in planning.

AI Will Devastate Mediocre Go-To-Market Teams

Many customer-facing teams struggle with slow response times, generic outreach, and inadequate preparation. Customers increasingly prefer interacting with efficient AI over subpar human service. This trend will intensify as AI improves.

The mediocre middle of go-to-market teams will shrink, leaving only elite relationship builders and strategic consultants. Others risk becoming expendable.

Attention Sales Reps: AI is Coming For Your Job. For Real.

Adapt or Be Left Behind

The most reliable indicator of future success? How quickly executives embrace meaningful AI adoption. Not just discussion, but actual implementation.

Smaller companies are rapidly transforming with AI while larger ones debate use cases and risk mitigation. Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress.

Three Actions for Monday Morning:

  1. Identify your highest-impact area for AI deployment (often where manual, repetitive work is prevalent).
  2. Set ambitious 30-60-90 day AI adoption metrics with clear ownership.
  3. Make AI a CEO/Board-level priority. This is not an optional technology project.

Treat AI adoption as the existential threat it is. Competitors are gaining ground, even if you can't see it yet. Change fast, or risk losing everything.