Where AI value sits in the tools you buy

What we're tracking

• •The moat is the data, not the feature The most instructive announcement of the day is a claim about strategy rather than a shipped button. Rippling described its approach to AI as resting on one foundation: "Rippling's whole AI bet comes down to one thing: a single connected database under every product it sells." [4]
• •AI where the work already is The second item is smaller in ambition and closer to daily life. Google announced a Gemini capability inside Sheets aimed at formula errors: "We're excited to introduce a new Gemini in Sheets capability that enables you to diagnose and fix formula errors in one click." [2]
• •What you are really paying for The third item is about money rather than features, and it frames the whole day. Writing about software valuations, SaaStr set the scene bluntly: "Four months ago the markets decided B2B software was dead." [3] The piece goes on to weigh whether names like Salesforce, HubSpot and Adobe have been marked down too far, but the part that matters for a buyer is the reason given for the fall — the fear that AI would make per-seat pricing obsolete.
• •Tools everyone on your team can use The last item is the quietest and the easiest to skip, which is why it is worth ending on. GitHub published an update on accessibility in open source, framed as a progress report: "Learn about the progress we've made toward our accessibility goals and how you can help make open source more inclusive." [1]
• •The thread, in one line Four announcements, one idea underneath them. The value of business software is drifting away from the visible feature and towards the things a demo cannot show you: the data the tool sits on, the price it is attached to, and whether everyone you employ can use it. When you next sit through a product tour, those are the three questions to bring with you, because they are the ones that decide whether a good demo turns into a good decision.