The Future of SaaS | 2025 Trends You NEED to Know

Rob Walling shares 5 predictions for the SaaS and broader startup market in 2025. Some of these represent great opportunity, and others will be big hurdles. Let us know what big disruptions that you see coming that he might have missed!

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Let’s Connect...

[drstarson]

100% agree with #1 - Google Search will be replaced by in-chat search

[harishep]

Wow amazing predictions ...esp Ad ecosystem

[hustlin_heev]

Agree with all

Sad to say cuz my wife works in Google ads lol

[PepperstreetDev]

Really agree with the "AI" term leaning towards a negative vibe. Like all new trends when over used. In technology, the Gartner Hype Cycle says that new technologies often go through a phase of inflated expectations (the "peak of inflated expectations") followed by disillusionment (the "trough of disillusionment") before reaching a more balanced understanding of its value. At the current rate of AI expansion who know how long this "Honeymoon period" could last. Its evolving so rapidly we might not see the stabilization for a long time. Every time we think we know what we dealing with we make another multiple factor leap forward. The only certainty is uncertainty.

[same.]

Rob I think another word you're looking for like "smart" is "automated." I agree that software buyers are going to soon start rolling their eyes everytime they hear "AI-powered" or "AI-assisted."

[BodhiSoftMobileApps]

Rob what do you make of Satya Nadella's much-hyped recent prediction that AI will be able to create cheap drop-in replacements for lots of SaaS apps that are just biz logic & CRUD connecting multiple databases, putting those SaaS vendors out of business?

[jmz]

Google has had terrible search results for the last two years or so. They have failed in its core business.

[Cygx]

google is still faster search, thats the only reason why I still use it

[RyanRoth-pq]

It's a bittersweet observation. The democratization of content creation through organic search and platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and others empowered countless artists and storytellers, giving them unprecedented independence and reach. They no longer needed the backing of major publishers or studios to make a living or share their work with the world.

But the digital landscape is shifting rapidly. Algorithmic curation, the rise of AI-generated content, and pay-to-play dynamics are changing how content is discovered and consumed. The playing field is tilting again, and smaller creators may find competing harder unless they can adapt.

While there’s hope in the resilience and creativity of independent artists, it's also a reminder that no digital revolution remains static. What do you think could help preserve this ecosystem for independent creators?

[same.]

Also, random question. It seems you typically record while standing. Is that just a personal preference or do you feel more energized to record while on your feet? I might start my own YT channel sometime, so just asking.

[mrfish]

Clickbait - doesnt answer the question on the title "Is SaaS dead"?

[RapidProductGrowth]

Rob, you're so reasonable. Do you think AI will push us to more in person sales when everything AI'd to the max?

[SimonNgai-du]

I think when you have models and ai systems getting closer and closer to human. There is less and less room for b2b saas to survive.
I guess starting to use AI to start your own business or find some jobs/ consultant contracts for building ai employees for the business owners would make more sense. I don't know when this will happen, but it certainly will. Or maybe we could just wait for UBI to come. XD

[amxdai]

Almost none of these are prediction regarding SaaS and most just sound like you’ve plucked them from Reddit…

[ArchitecturalAesthetics]

Nft and crypto did not have nearly the amt of utility that llm offers.

[AbdulAziz-bwdz]

Fun fact my saas appears in LLM more than SEO

[danielohirsch]

I think there is going to be a reckoning coming to AI in terms of their monetization of answers/responses in terms of content creators - who provide a good bulk of the data it is trained on - no longer will have as strong of a benefit or motivation to do it... it will neither drive traffic to their sites nor give their site any "authority"... etc...

I don't believe the AI companies are going to have a free lunch in their "use" of content forever... especially as we get into more and more media produced by models trained by others artwork/creative experience.

[michaelwisniewski]

Only #1 is a prediction relevant for SaaS

[ashton]

I'm totally agreed with you! Google will lose a big part of the ads revenue in 2025

[danielohirsch]

So AI is taking out some of the efficacy of story based/content marketing...