Selling AI software isn't as easy as it used to be

The golden age of unbridled spending on AI software might be behind us, as vendors say it's a lot harder to make a sale than it used to be.

- Isabelle Bousquette

Last year represented something of a boon era for vendors peddling AI apps. Spurred by board-level mandates, corporate FOMO and an aggressive campaign from tech giants about the world-changing capabilities of AI agents, enterprises were spending willingly and wildly—an estimated total of more than $1.249 trillion in software, according to research and advisory firm Gartner.

Alex Levin, co founder and chief executive of Al-powered customer service startup Regal, said until recently he could make an enterprise sale with a single demo—a phenomenon he called “shocking,” given how big companies can sometimes take one to two years to make a purchase. Last year, Levin said he was closing deals in as little as 60 or 90 days.

That isn't the case any more.

Vendors say big companies have become more cautious about what they buy. They're taking longer to evaluate solutions, involving more internal stakeholders from legal and finance teams, and placing more emphasis on the kind of financial returns they might get out of the investment. The breakneck pace of Al innovation—like recent updates around Anthropic’s Claude —is also making potential customers wary of sales commitments.