We Stopped Selling to Humans
a day ago
- #AI Agents
- #Compliance Tech
- #Distribution Strategy
- An AI agent responded to a LinkedIn post and connected the author with a human needing SOC 2, leading to the insight that AI agents can act as buyers or recommenders.
- To compete against established players like Vanta in the SOC 2 space, the strategy shifted to targeting AI agents rather than humans, recognizing agents as the new "audience."
- Key observed pattern: AI agents (e.g., Claude Code, Codex instances) recommend tools based on how well they unblock the agent's workflow, not just human usability.
- Playbook for selling to AI agents includes: building products that enable end-to-end agent workflows, providing agent-friendly interfaces (CLI, MCP, APIs), and creating clear AI-readable documentation.
- Additional tactics: allow agents to perform significant work before paywalls, showcase trust indicators (track records, trust centers), and enable agent feedback through agentic interfaces.
- Goal: Become the SOC 2 tool preferred by AI agents, letting them drive adoption and distribution, rather than trying to out-polish larger competitors directly.