https://brianguthrie.com/categories/strategy/Gears Within GearsHugo -- gohugo.ioen-usThu, 16 Jul 2026 14:30:12 +0000https://brianguthrie.com/p/ai-isnt-a-value-add-for-software-software-is-a-value-add-for-ai/Sat, 14 Mar 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://brianguthrie.com/p/ai-isnt-a-value-add-for-software-software-is-a-value-add-for-ai/<p>When a company hits a ceiling on its core business, it often tries to grow demand. The Michelin Guide wasn&rsquo;t about restaurants; it was about miles driven. Facebook&rsquo;s <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2013/08/technology-leaders-launch-partnership-to-make-internet-access-available-to-all/">internet.org</a> wasn&rsquo;t about altruism; it unlocked expansion by growing the size of the entire internet. The ceiling on the business was the medium, so they expanded it.</p> <p>AI companies face the same structural problem: their constraint on inference revenue is the volume of tasks that flow through models. From where they sit, <em>every piece of software that still runs without model calls is unrealized market</em>.</p>