Salesforce's and ServiceNow’s Business Models Are in Danger, Expert Cautions: What Does It Mean For CRM and NOW?

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Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM ) and ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW ) could face growing pressure on one of enterprise software's most lucrative business models as AI agents reduce the need for human software users, according to Parnassus Investments Chief Investment Officer Todd Ahlsten .

"The seat license model is just going to be under a lot of pressure," Ahlsten said Monday on Bloomberg Tech , pointing to the rapid growth of Anthropic, OpenAI and Google's Gemini.

His argument is simple: if AI allows companies to get more work done without adding employees, they may no longer need to keep adding Salesforce or ServiceNow licenses alongside headcount.

"We wish them well. They're good companies," Ahlsten said. "I just think the long-term bankability of that is going to be challenging."

Ahlsten's concern is that AI could weaken the link between customer headcount and software revenue. Traditionally, companies hired more workers, those workers needed more software accounts, and vendors collected more recurring revenue.

AI agents change that equation because companies can increase output without hiring another employee who needs another software license.

Consulting firm Bain & Company analyzed more than 30 SaaS vendors introducing generative AI and found about 65% had adopted hybrid pricing, layering AI usage or feature-based charges on top of traditional seat pricing.