Software makers’ best may not be good enough as AI fears mount

Salesforce will likely report its fastest quarterly revenue growth in three years, but analysts say that may not be enough, as fears that artificial intelligence would decimate software makers have sapped investor confidence in the industry.

Software CEOs such as Salesforce’s Marc Benioff have tried to reassure shareholders that proprietary data, ‌decades of ⁠enterprise experience ⁠and in-house AI offerings would keep customers loyal, even as AI tools from the likes of Anthropic encroach on legal, marketing and customer-service work.