Wall Street traders rarely agree on anything, but last week they all seemed to be dumping the same software stocks. The reason? A new AI tool promised similar functionality. Now, the question is: will the tools you rely on at work be next?
If you read between the lines of a recent scramble on Wall Street to sell off certain stocks, you can make out the fuzzy outline of a weird future: one where when you need something in your workflow to change, you’re less likely to buy or license software, and more likely to just vibecode some for yourself—whether you want to or not.
A piece of analysis from Bloomberg lays this out. All at once, a group of software companies compiled by Goldman Sachs lost 6% of their value on Tuesday, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ at one point dipped 2.4%, although it climbed a bit after that.
The reason Bloomberg gave: Anthropic released a plugin for Claude called simply “Legal,” which allows users to “Speed up contract review, NDA triage, and compliance workflows for in-house legal teams.” The plugin adds functionality not to Claude Code, the tool for software engineers (and wannabe software engineers), but to the newer Claude Cowork, the companion to Claude Code for normie knowledge workers.
“Anthropic launched new capabilities for its Cowork to the legal space, heightening competition,” Bloomberg quotes Morgan Stanley analysts as having written in a statement. They added “We view this as a sign of intensifying competition, and thus a potential negative.”
Welcome to the Vibecode Economy
The aroma of panic is unmistakable. Last month, Google’s release of Project Genie, which lets users submit prompts and receive their own AI-generated game-like experiences, prompted a sell-off as well. The stocks of Nintendo, Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar, and Roblox all suffered according to Tom’s Hardware.
Presumably this will keep happening. As more AI extensions materialize that promise dazzling new automation, shareholders will adjust their outlook around the new expectation that rather than buying professionally build solutions to problems—like legal software or game design software—companies will assume that there’s a capacity already contained within AI tools their employees can easily access.
Sure, it doesn’t really follow that legal services software or game design software can really be replaced by these tools, but that doesn’t matter. The more important thing is that investors are starting to think they can, and this belief is now an action—selling—that can target narrower and narrower parts of the working world for potential deletion.
If you’re someone with a job, this is one of the less discussed parts of the drive toward automation: not the part where you lose your job, but the part where your job gets worse because your boss no longer pays for good tools. Your boss pays for a premium membership to Claude Cowork, so stop complaining and vibecode a fix.
How will AI tools replace professional software?
Think of it as a slow drip rather than a tidal wave. The expectation is that companies will gradually shift toward leveraging general-purpose AI platforms like Anthropic’s Claude or Google’s Gemini (formerly Bard) instead of purchasing specialized software. It’s like switching from meticulously crafted, individual brushstrokes to using a broader, less defined sponge – it might cover the canvas, but lacks the precision.
Your Job Just Got Worse
I overheard a manager telling his team last week that they needed to “be resourceful” when the budget for their design software got cut. This is the future manifesting: not mass unemployment, but a gradual erosion of the tools and resources available to do your job effectively.
The current trend isn’t necessarily about *replacing* specialized software outright, but about offering “good enough” alternatives that satisfy budget-conscious decision-makers. Imagine your company deciding against renewing its Adobe Creative Suite licenses, opting instead for a team subscription to Midjourney and tasking you with “creating compelling marketing visuals.” Suddenly, you’re not just a marketer; you’re a prompt engineer, coaxing passable images from an AI that might not fully grasp your brand’s aesthetic. The core function remains – producing visuals – but the process becomes convoluted, potentially less effective, and certainly more frustrating.
Are specialized software companies doomed?
Not necessarily, but they will have to adapt. The smart ones are already integrating AI into their existing platforms, offering genuine enhancements rather than replacements for core functionalities. Companies that fail to innovate risk becoming relics of a bygone era, remembered fondly but ultimately irrelevant in the face of evolving technological landscapes. The key is to offer features that AI cannot replicate—at least not yet.
The more important point is that investors are starting to believe they can, and this belief is now an action—selling—that can target narrower and narrower parts of the working world for potential deletion.
The trend is clear. Wall Street seems to believe a future is coming where companies expect their employees to Frankenstein together their own software solutions using AI tools. The question is, how long before your workflow is next?