When AI assistants replace apps: enterprise software vendors face long-term risks, Bank of America says Microsoft (MSFT.US) has taken the lead

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Bank of America said in a report that if artificial intelligence (AI) assistants become the mainstream way people use software, it may have an impact on enterprise software vendors, but the bank believes that Microsoft (MSFT.US), CRM.US (CRM.US), and ServiceNow (NOW.US) have the advantage of adapting to transformation.

The brokerage firm pointed out that when users switch to a conversational AI interface, they may no longer need to directly open various applications. Even companies with data and business processes face long-term risks as a result. The report also mentioned that leading AI laboratories may enter the application layer and form competition in the future.

Bank of America said that by relying on the huge channels brought by Office, Teams, Outlook, and Windows, and superimposing the Copilot product strategy, Microsoft has an outstanding advantage in seizing the next generation of interactive interfaces.

Regarding SafeTime, Bank of America believes it is adopting a “two-line layout” strategy: on the one hand, it uses Slack to control user interaction portals, and on the other hand, it opens its own data and business processes for use by AI interfaces such as Claude (Anthropic). However, this approach may weaken SAFTSE's right to speak in its own interface. The analyst said, “Therefore, we believe that Safez's solution is a pragmatic hedging method: rely on Slackforce as much as possible to maintain interactive entrances while opening access to external interfaces to preserve data and business context within the enterprise.”

According to Bank of America's analysis, ServiceNow does not necessarily need to control the interactive interface, provided it can continue to control the underlying controlled business processes and execution layer.

The report also mentioned that Workday (WDAY.US) faces a lower risk of being replaced, but the pressure to prove the rationality of increasing spending on its own AI interface is greater due to limited IT budgets.