Your Upsell is My Opportunity - The Case for Invisible AI
Klarna’s decision to ditch Salesforce made waves this week (second only to "Founder Mode"). This choice got me thinking about where SaaS is heading, especially as we approach the renewal season.
As we enter Q4, I imagine your inbox is filling up with pitches touting the latest AI enhancements. And if you’ve seen a few, you’ve likely noticed a pattern—most AI pitches fall into three familiar buckets:
Enhanced search
Content summarization
Assisted writing or image generation
These features are useful, sure, but here’s the paradox: they’re often surface-level enhancements, quick fixes aimed at juicing ACV by 20-30%. It’s a strategy, but is it truly innovation?
Klarna’s Signal to the Market
Klarna leaving Salesforce sends a strong message. This isn’t just about one company switching CRMs—it's a signal that the market is primed for change.
Salesforce has been piling on AI features for years. On paper, it seems they’re doing everything right. So why would a major player like Klarna walk away?
My guess? It’s because slapping AI onto an existing product isn’t enough anymore (and it's becoming ever easier to build a vanilla enterprise software).
The Future of Invisible AI
In the near future:
AI-powered search will simply be... search
AI-assisted writing will just be... writing
Tech-enabled services will become simply... service
It reminds me of the early days of cloud computing. Every product boasted about being “cloud-based.” Now, we don’t even think about it—it’s just assumed. AI is heading down the same path.
Disruption Hiding in Plain Sight
For founders and product leaders, there’s an important takeaway here. Every time an incumbent adds another AI feature, they’re shining a light on a vulnerability. The message is clear: “Our core product isn’t enough, so we’ve bolted AI onto it.”
For nimble startups, this is a golden opportunity. It’s like a neon sign flashing, “Disrupt me!”
What This Means for SaaS Builders
If you’re building a product today, here are some key lessons:
Rethink workflows from the ground up: Don’t just sprinkle AI on top. Ask yourself, “If we were designing this today, with AI from the start, what would it look like?”
Focus on outcomes, not features: Users don’t care about AI—they care about results. Can they do their jobs faster, easier, or better?
Build data flywheels: The winners in this space will be companies whose products get smarter with every interaction
Simplicity is key: The best AI is often invisible—it just makes the experience feel better
The Clean Slate Advantage
Here’s a paradox: in today’s AI-driven SaaS world, starting from scratch can be an advantage. Without the weight of legacy systems or outdated assumptions, you can build AI at the core—not as an add-on.
This might explain some of the excitement around new players in the market. They’re not retrofitting—they’re rethinking entire workflows with AI as the foundation (and with a lower cost structure).
The Road Ahead
Klarna parting ways with Salesforce and the rise of AI-first startups are signals of a broader trend. Soon, the line between “AI-powered” and “regular” software will blur, maybe even disappear.
The real winners won’t be the ones with the most AI features. They’ll be the companies solving real problems with AI in ways that feel natural and intuitive.
The real winners will be the ones who look back and say, "Your upsell was my opportunity."
So the next time an AI upsell lands in your inbox, don’t dismiss it too quickly. There might be a million-dollar opportunity hidden in there.