The Internet Is Fading. The Agent Era Has Begun.
Introduction Most of what we learned in the Internet era is no longer compounding. DAU is losing relevance. SaaS is no longer the growth engine it once was. The attention economy is in structural decline. The classic path from tools to platforms is breaking down. The term “AI application” no longer describes what is actually being built. Network effects. Communities. Platforms. SaaS. Applications. Attention economy. These concepts once formed a shared framework for understanding technology and business. We used them to design products, explain strategy, and communicate with investors. But more and more often, it becomes clear that the world these concepts describe is no longer the center of gravity. Not because the Internet suddenly disappeared, but because its core assumptions are no longer where growth comes from. The Internet era was built on one fundamental premise: Humans are the users of software. That premise is now eroding. A new one is taking its place: Agents are becoming the primary operators of software. This is not a sudden collapse. It is a gradual handover. ...