AI Agents Will Lead to the Rise of Horizontal Platforms
AI is revolutionizing software by enabling the rise of horizontal, compound products powered by intelligent agents, combining breadth and depth to redefine how we work and innovate.
Introduction
The landscape of software is constantly evolving through cycles of bundling and unbundling. Traditionally, software has been vertical or best-of-breed, solving specific needs in a single niche. With AI today, a shift towards horizontal, all-in-one platforms is emerging.
Catalyst for Change
The current drivers of this shift are a mix of buyers' desire for vendor consolidation to simplify stacks and overall software spending cuts. On the supplier's i.e. software startups the use of AI agents makes it easier to ship and maintain code at an ever faster pace. Moreover, the emergence of Agentic Software that is able to integrate with entire underlying application data to provide a much richer user experience that was never possible before. AI agents may even negate the need for building new features as AI agents autonomously drive efficiency and close the gaps by performing work on users' behalf.
Agentic software: Software that uses AI agents to automate repetitive tasks, increase efficiency, and take strategic context-aware decisions on behalf of end-users.
Why Compound Products - Sales as an Example
Parker Conrad, founder of Rippling coined the term “compound startup” a company that builds multiple interconnected products under one umbrella. He states while a single-point solution might be the best product in its niche it stands no chance of competing against a bundled solution that covers 90% of the features.
Example Sales Stack Breakdown:
A sales rep's software stack can easily reach $1,500 per month—$18,000 per year—excluding tools like demo software or marketing automation.
Compound products solve this by offering a unified suite that maximizes value, reduces costs, and capitalizes on bundling benefits, allowing them to command larger contract sizes compared to single-point solutions while still undercutting the total cost of managing multiple tools in the stack. Compound products offer the best of both worlds: functionality and cost efficiency.
Why AI-Driven Solutions Are Driving a Shift Toward Horizontal Software
Tasker AI’s Place in This New Landscape
At Tasker AI, we’re transforming software by combining the breadth of horizontal platforms with the depth of vertical solutions. Powered by AI agents and canvas computing, Tasker brings an intuitive, adaptive platform that simplifies workflows while addressing niche needs with precision. Learn more at www.tasker.ai.
We enable users to focus on growth and innovation, leaving fragmented tools and inefficiency behind. This is the future of software, and Tasker AI is proud to lead the charge.