Source: UX Collective
AI vendors are solving the credibility problem that plagued early enterprise software by embedding engineers directly into customer teams—replacing the traditional sales-and-handoff model with continuous problem-solving and real-time iteration. This matters because it collapses the gap between what customers say they need and what vendors build, reducing friction that typically kills AI adoption in risk-averse organizations. Companies that can afford this model (Anthropic, OpenAI, Palantir precedents) are essentially outsourcing customer success through engineering muscle, which raises the barrier to entry for competitors and creates lock-in through deep integration rather than contractual terms.