One of the most significant impacts of AI will be the proliferation of custom-built tools and apps. While this was technically possible before, the friction for non-developers was simply too high. I believe we’re at the beginning of a genuine democratization of software, where curious individuals can finally build tools for their personal needs, perhaps extending them to a few people around them.
This shift will eventually transform the classic “build vs. buy” calculation for businesses, starting with SMBs. For years, the default was to buy. Why would a small business spend precious time and energy building non-core functions? They bought, which led directly to the massive SaaS sprawl we see today. That tide is turning. For SMBs, the new incentive is to kill the bloat by building lean software that perfectly fits their use cases. Of course, common productivity tools will remain, but the custom plumbing and specific AI applications will increasingly be built in-house.
As companies mature and complexity grows, this trend will only accelerate. The need for custom software will increase, but meeting that need won’t be the time-and-energy sink it once was, nor will it fall solely on the existing developer team. Instead, everyone will be expected to contribute a fraction of their time to building the tools they need to be more effective and successful in their own roles.
My personal exploration has been focused on that first piece: building the tools I’ve always wanted but were either locked behind expensive SaaS subscriptions or a $10/month fee that made me think, “I can build this myself, why should I pay?” For me, experimenting with AI for coding has been a revelation. Now that I’ve committed to a $100 monthly Claude Code subscription, I suspect I’ll be building a lot more of these tools myself.
Let’s see where it goes.