So will buyers really pay more for AI? Or will they expect it to be included in the already in many cases expensive purchase price for the core product?
We’re still learning. On the one hand, many players in the support space have clearly been able to charge incrementally for AI-based issue resolution, from Intercom to Zendesk to Gorgias and more. To often net net drive up ACVs around 50%.
Salesforce is going big here with AgentForce at $2 per usage. Others are more cautious. HubSpot and Procore are taking their time in deciding how much if anything to charge extra for AI.
Vendr’s latest data suggest overall, net net, ACVs aren’t going up from AI. Not yet at least:
Where this will all go, I think it’s too early to know. Many SaaS probably have gotten much, much more expensive over the past 3 years. Can they get even more expensive by offering AI agents and more? Maybe. Or maybe they’ll push up against the limits of what customers will reasonably expect for $10k, $50k, $150k a year.
The one thing I do believe is don’t “do AI” just to drive up your ACV. Add more AI to make your product much, much better. The markets are expecting this now. The Old SaaS Products of 2021 are looking very creaky and dated
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Then, if you can charge more for it — great.
