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Home / Themes / AI '25: AI-Ready Design

Theme thesis · 5/5 sections · Tickers 6 with notes · 10 pending

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Bull / Bear Details has the investment thesis and bull/bear points. Overview is monitoring guidance (hiring, forums, second-order trends, search keywords, Google Trends, datasets).

Bull / Bear Details

The AI '25: Design subtheme focuses on platforms embedding agentic AI directly into workflows, making enterprise software smarter, contextual, and invisible. Wh

Thesis

The AI '25: Design subtheme focuses on platforms embedding agentic AI directly into workflows, making enterprise software smarter, contextual, and invisible. While innovation and initial adoption are strong, the outlook is increasingly challenged by difficulties in demonstrating clear ROI, integration complexities, and a rapidly evolving regulatory environment.

Bull case

Winners are successfully embedding agentic AI seamlessly into existing workflows, optimizing user experience without requiring extensive retraining. Enterprises are actively moving beyond generative AI chatbots to autonomous agents that can reason, plan, and execute complex workflows, driving next-level automation. This is evidenced by 80% of enterprise applications shipped or updated in Q1 2026 embedding at least one AI agent.
The emergence of agentic frontends and intelligent orchestration layers is proving critical for integrating AI agents into everyday operations. Companies controlling the workflow frontend and feedback backend are best positioned to leverage AI, with platforms like Slack becoming significant growth drivers for AI adoption, contributing nearly half of Salesforce's million-dollar wins.
The democratization of AI development is accelerating through low-code and no-code AI platforms, removing technical barriers and enabling broader participation in AI innovation. This aligns with the demand for software with open APIs, modular workflows, and local memory stores to handle privacy and responsiveness, as agentic primitives become commodity offerings in AI platforms.

Bear case

Despite high investment, a significant challenge remains in demonstrating clear and measurable ROI from agentic AI implementations, with many organizations struggling to translate adoption into real business value. Only 23-29% of executives report significant ROI from AI agents or generative AI, and a substantial 88% of agentic AI pilots fail to reach production, leading to high project cancellation rates.
Integrating AI agents into legacy enterprise systems presents substantial workflow disruption, complexity risks, and organizational barriers. Challenges include data quality, employee skill gaps, and integration with existing systems, which slow deployment and hinder value realization, often leading to 'agentic overhead' where embedded AI fails to deliver measurable ROI.
The rapidly evolving and fragmented global regulatory landscape for AI, including acts like the EU AI Act and diverse US state laws, creates significant compliance costs, operational complexity, and legal uncertainty for enterprises deploying AI-ready designs. Compliance is becoming an operational necessity, requiring integration into AI system design and governance.

Overview

Hiring Trend Watchpoints

High-performing operators in the AI-Ready Design theme are prioritizing specialized AI roles focused on integration, governance, and user experience, moving beyond foundational AI research. There is an exploding demand for AI/ML Engineers, MLOps Engineers, and AI Integrators (LLM developers) to build and deploy AI systems. Critically, AI Governance Specialists are in high demand to ensure compliance, manage risk, and operationalize oversight, particularly with the EU AI Act coming into effect. Product Designers are needed who can think strategically and integrate AI into workflows, rather than just execute 'pixel-pushing' tasks. Sales roles are also evolving, with a growing need for AI-assisted sales specialists who can leverage AI for prospecting and automation. Companies are also investing in internal AI tooling expertise to drive productivity and efficiency, as seen with GitLab's restructuring to focus on architectural bets and internal AI tooling, and Salesforce's 'Customer Zero' playbook. **Practical Monitoring Guidance:** * **Strengthening:** An increase in job postings for 'AI Governance Lead,' 'AI Product Designer' (with AI fluency), 'AI Integration Engineer,' 'MLOps Engineer,' and 'AI Sales Specialist.' Evidence of internal training programs for existing employees in AI tools and workflows. Growth in sales capacity specifically for AI-powered solutions. * **Weakening/Inflecting:** A decline in postings for these specialized AI roles, or a shift towards more generic software engineering roles. Continued broad layoffs without clear reallocation to AI-specific functions. Lack of emphasis on AI fluency in product and sales roles.

Forum Watchlist

RedditHigh
Discussions on AI agents, autonomous automation, tools, experiments, and real-world use cases.
DiscordHigh
Active conversations around specific AI agent development, orchestration, and deployment challenges.

Second Order Trends

The theme is evolving beyond simply embedding agentic AI to addressing the critical challenges of demonstrating measurable ROI and bridging the gap between rapid AI innovation and slower customer adoption. Many organizations are struggling to translate AI adoption into clear business value, with a significant number of agentic AI projects predicted to be canceled due to a lack of measurable ROI. A significant emerging trend is the widespread adoption of internal AI tooling for enterprise productivity and operational excellence, often preceding or complementing external product monetization. Companies like Salesforce are leveraging internal AI for coding and efficiency, while GitLab is reinvesting in internal AI tooling. Concurrently, robust AI governance, risk management, and trust-building are becoming paramount, with companies actively hiring for specialized governance roles to navigate regulatory complexities and ensure responsible AI deployment, especially with the EU AI Act. This is leading to a broader shift towards 'AI + Human' workflows and a fundamental redesign of work processes, rather than merely augmenting existing tasks, as companies seek to optimize for efficiency and manage the costs associated with 'token maxing.'

Search Keywords Brand Product

Agentforce
Agentforce Coworker
Headless 360
Duo Agent Platform
GitLab Duo
Conversation Orchestrator
Conversation Memory
Conversation Intelligence
Agentic Trading
Agentic Credit Card
Cortex AI assistant
Breeze AI
HubSpot Data Agent
HubSpot Prospecting Agent
HubSpot Customer Agent

Search Keywords Policy Regulatory

AI governance enterprise
AI data privacy enterprise
AI workflow compliance
EU AI Act enterprise
AI risk management business

Search Keywords Event Phrases

SIGNAL 2026 announcements
INBOUND 2025 updates
AI-Ready Design trends 2026
Dreamforce 2026 AI updates

Google Trend Product Category Intent

• AI workflow automation software • agentic AI platform • AI-powered CRM • AI design tools • AI agent development • AI orchestration platform

Google Trend Consumer Intent

• AI trading bot • AI personal assistant • AI customer service • AI productivity tools

Google Trend Macro Policy Terms

• AI regulation enterprise • AI ethics business • AI governance framework

Top datasets to track

1. Product NPS for AI-Enabled Features Type: Company-level/Survey · Provider: Gartner Peer Insights, G2, internal surveys Cadence: Biannual Why it matters: Measures whether agentic features are improving UX or causing user friction, directly reflecting the theme's core value proposition. Suggested query: Product NPS for AI-Enabled Features trends Confidence: High

2. DAUs of AI-Powered Modules (e.g., Copilot-style UIs) Type: Alternative Data · Provider: Alt Data (e.g., YipitData, Apptopia) Cadence: Monthly Why it matters: Indicates real-world adoption and value-add of embedded AI in design-first applications, a key measure of theme strengthening. Suggested query: Daily Active Users AI modules enterprise software Confidence: High

3. AI-Augmented Workflow Announcements Type: Company-level/Qualitative · Provider: Earnings Calls, Press Releases Cadence: Quarterly Why it matters: Tracks enterprise software's ability to embed AI in native workflows, signaling product development and market traction. Suggested query: AI-augmented workflow announcements enterprise software Confidence: Medium

4. Salesforce Agentforce ARR Type: Company-level · Provider: Salesforce Earnings Reports Cadence: Quarterly Why it matters: Directly tracks the monetization and adoption of Salesforce's core agentic AI offerings, signaling success in a key constituent. Suggested query: Salesforce Agentforce ARR growth Confidence: High

5. GitLab Dollar-Based Net Retention (DBNR) Rate Type: Company-level · Provider: GitLab Earnings Releases and Calls Cadence: Quarterly Why it matters: Reflects existing customer expansion and churn, which will be heavily influenced by the successful integration and value delivery of GitLab's Duo Agent Platform and other AI initiatives. Suggested query: GitLab DBNR rate Confidence: High

Key Metrics3 rows

Metric	Cadence	What It Signals	Update Source
AI-Augmented Workflow Announcements	Quarterly	Tracks enterprise software's ability to embed AI in native workflows	Google_Sheets
DAUs of AI-Powered Modules (e.g., Copilot-style UIs)	Monthly	Indicates real-world adoption and value-add of embedded AI in design-first apps	Google_Sheets
Product NPS for AI-Enabled Features	Biannual	Measures whether agentic features are improving UX or causing user friction	Google_Sheets

Upcoming Catalysts23 rows

Catalyst ID	Estimated Timing	Estimated Date Start	Estimated Date End	Catalyst	Why It Matters	Ticker Or Theme Specific	Transcript Date	Source Type	Catalyst Source
CRM_9849145f	next leg of our path to FY '30	2026-04-01	2030-01-31	Successful development and implementation of monetization strategies for the Headless 360 platform, expanding Salesforce's addressable market.	This strategy aims to drive new revenue streams by allowing customers to access Salesforce capabilities through any interface. Successful monetization will positively impact long-term growth and valuation.	Ticker	2026-05-27	earnings_transcript	CRM (ticker)
GTLB_38a6b74a	In FY '27, we plan multiple new monetization opportunities each quarter, anticipated throughout the year.	2026-03-01	2027-02-28	GitLab introducing multiple new opt-in, a la carte product offerings (e.g., artifact management, software supply chain security, integrated secrets management) to unlock new monetization vectors.	While expected to have "modest FY '27 contribution," these new offerings are anticipated to have a "meaningful impact for FY '28 and beyond" by providing intermediate options for customers to opt into more value at incremental price, driving future revenue growth.	Ticker	2026-03-03	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_367c6cdc	We expect better public sector performance in FY '27 but are not assuming a bounce back. Some business moved into FY '27.	2026-03-01	2027-02-28	Recovery and stabilization of public sector customer spending and deal closures for GitLab.	The public sector represents approximately 12% of GitLab's ARR, and improved performance is crucial for meeting FY '27 guidance and demonstrating broader market demand, impacting revenue growth and investor sentiment.	Ticker	2026-03-03	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_e06c9d4b	cannot predict the likelihood or timing of when that may occur.	2026-06-04	2028-03-03	Deconsolidation of JiHu, GitLab's joint venture in China.	Deconsolidation would remove JiHu's expenses (forecasted at $15 million for FY '27) from GitLab's financials, potentially improving operating margins and simplifying the company's structure.	Ticker	2026-03-03	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_37bfaa05	Our Board has authorized GitLab's first $400 million share repurchase program.	2026-03-03	2027-03-03	GitLab's execution of its newly authorized $400 million share repurchase program.	This reflects management's confidence in fundamentals and growth, aiming to drive shareholder value and manage dilution, which could positively impact investor sentiment and share price.	Ticker	2026-03-03	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_98fc08af	Over the course of FY '27	2026-02-01	2027-01-31	GitLab intends to transition Duo Pro and Duo Enterprise subscriptions into the Duo Agent Platform (DAP), consolidating its AI portfolio onto a single agentic platform and consumption business model.	This consolidation simplifies the AI offering and aligns it with a consumption model, which could impact revenue recognition, customer adoption, and overall monetization of AI capabilities.	Ticker	2026-06-02	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_ce8869f7	The focus this year remains on converting pilots to production and ramping new adopters.	2026-02-01	2027-01-31	GitLab aims to convert existing Duo Agent Platform pilots into full production deployments and onboard new adopters.	Successful conversion and adoption are crucial for validating the value proposition of DAP and for it to eventually contribute materially to revenue beyond the minimal FY27 expectations.	Ticker	2026-06-02	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_d337a21d	though we cannot predict the likelihood or timing of when that may occur.	2026-06-04	2027-12-31	GitLab's goal to deconsolidate JiHu, its joint venture in China.	Deconsolidation could simplify GitLab's operational structure and financial reporting, potentially impacting its international strategy and investor perception of its global footprint. The uncertainty around timing makes it a potential overhang.	Ticker	2026-06-02	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
TWLO_fc7eecb6	Full year 2026	2026-01-01	2026-12-31	Twilio's actual reported revenue, organic revenue, non-GAAP income from operations, gross profit dollar growth, and free cash flow for the full year 2026 compared to its guidance.	Achieving or exceeding these financial targets, especially the double-digit organic revenue growth orientation and strong profitability, will significantly impact valuation and investor sentiment.	Ticker	2026-02-12	earnings_transcript	TWLO (ticker)
TWLO_dcc5d7c3	gaining traction	2026-04-26	2027-04-26	Continued acceleration in the adoption and volume of RCS messaging, particularly for marketing-oriented use cases and small businesses.	Strong RCS growth could drive messaging revenue, enhance Twilio's competitive differentiation with rich messaging experiences, and improve customer engagement, positively impacting sentiment.	Ticker	2026-02-12	earnings_transcript	TWLO (ticker)
TWLO_e2738c93	today and in the future	2026-04-26	2028-12-31	Twilio's ability to successfully execute its AI innovation roadmap, deliver memory-driven orchestration and agentic interactions, and establish itself as a foundational infrastructure layer for AI agents.	This is crucial for long-term revenue growth, competitive advantage in the AI era, and solidifying its position within the 'Agentic Utilities' and 'AI-Ready Design' themes, driving significant valuation upside.	Ticker	2026-02-12	earnings_transcript	TWLO (ticker)
GTLB_6e039aa5	next week	2026-06-10	2026-06-11	GitLab's Transcend event will unveil GitLab Flex (a new buying program), GitLab Orbit (a first-class API accessible service for context), a demo of Git infrastructure supporting 100x scale for agents, and the first delivery of autonomous engineering.	These unveilings could significantly impact investor sentiment and valuation by demonstrating GitLab's innovation, new monetization strategies, and its positioning for the agentic era, potentially driving future revenue growth.	Ticker	2026-06-02	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
CRM_535edcb8	as we get Agentforce Coworker live for all of our customers	2026-07-01	2026-09-30	The full rollout and widespread adoption of Agentforce Coworker, making autonomous agents built into all Salesforce applications available to all customers.	This product is expected to significantly enhance Salesforce applications, driving increased token usage, customer adoption, and potential upsell opportunities, impacting revenue and product stickiness.	Ticker	2026-05-27	earnings_transcript	CRM (ticker)
GTLB_80e31e6c	FY '27 is about converting pilots to production, with conversions in the back half of the year, and revenue in following quarters going into FY '28. Self-managed customers typically take 2 quarters for over 50% adoption of the necessary release.	2026-07-01	2027-02-28	Successful conversion of GitLab Duo Agent Platform (DAP) pilots to production deployments, particularly among self-managed customers who need to upgrade to release 18.8 or better.	DAP is a new multi-year growth driver with a hybrid pricing model. While minimal revenue contribution is expected in FY '27, successful conversions are critical for "significant revenue contribution" in FY '28 and beyond, impacting future growth and valuation.	Ticker	2026-03-03	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_213cf84e	most of the benefit to land in the second half of the year	2026-07-01	2026-12-31	The benefits from FY '26 quota-carrying headcount investments and continued capacity growth are expected to materialize, leading to increased gross bookings.	Increased sales capacity is crucial for driving first-order growth and expanding market share, directly impacting future bookings and revenue acceleration.	Ticker	2026-06-02	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_0b669629	later this year	2026-07-01	2026-12-31	Zillow Group is expected to fully deploy GitLab Duo Agent platform across hundreds of developers, with the active user base projected to grow nearly 20x upon full deployment.	This large-scale deployment by a top 10 U.S. bank serves as a significant proof point for DAP's effectiveness and scalability, potentially influencing other enterprise customers and driving future adoption and revenue.	Ticker	2026-06-02	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
CRM_0574a23d	second half of FY '27	2026-08-01	2027-01-31	Salesforce achieving organic revenue reacceleration as guided for the second half of fiscal year 2027.	This is a critical management guidance metric. Achieving reacceleration would validate their strategy and execution, positively impacting revenue growth and investor sentiment.	Ticker	2026-05-27	earnings_transcript	CRM (ticker)
GTLB_801f0e39	over the following 3 quarters	2026-08-01	2027-04-30	GitLab expects to reinvest the vast majority of savings from its Act 2 restructuring into team members, architectural bets (R&D resources), and internal AI tooling.	These investments are critical for accelerating the Act 2 strategy, delivering on architectural bets, and driving long-term durable growth and operating leverage, but also carry execution risk.	Ticker	2026-06-02	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_131c48d9	expect profitability to trough in Q3 due to timing of investments post restructuring	2026-08-01	2026-10-31	GitLab expects its non-GAAP operating income to reach its lowest point in Q3 FY27 due to the timing of investments following the Act 2 restructuring.	This indicates a temporary dip in profitability as the company reallocates resources, which could impact short-term investor sentiment but is framed as necessary for long-term growth.	Ticker	2026-06-02	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
GTLB_585b2c94	beginning in Q3	2026-09-01	2026-11-30	GitLab achieving stronger ramped sales capacity through increased headcount and overhauled territory design.	This initiative is expected to have the "biggest immediate impact on FY '27" growth by improving coverage of existing customers and accelerating new logo acquisition, which is critical for reaccelerating revenue growth.	Ticker	2026-03-03	earnings_transcript	GTLB (ticker)
TWLO_b293e1d5	Q4 '26 earnings call next year	2027-01-01	2027-02-28	Twilio providing its complete full year 2027 financial guidance during its Q4 2026 earnings call.	This guidance will set market expectations for Twilio's future growth and profitability, influencing long-term valuation and investor sentiment.	Ticker	2026-02-12	earnings_transcript	TWLO (ticker)
CRM_f0e419cf	in short order	2027-05-27	2028-05-27	Slack achieving $10 billion in annual revenue.	This represents a major growth milestone for Slack, confirming its successful integration and expansion within Salesforce's portfolio, and would positively impact overall revenue and valuation.	Ticker	2026-05-27	earnings_transcript	CRM (ticker)
CRM_1b0887fa	In 2 years	2028-05-27	2028-05-31	Slack reaching a point where the number of AI agents using the platform surpasses the number of human users.	This milestone would demonstrate a significant shift towards agentic enterprise operations, validating Slack's strategic importance and potentially leading to substantial growth in usage and monetization.	Ticker	2026-05-27	earnings_transcript	CRM (ticker)

Notes3 rows

Earnings Transcript

Date	Type	Comment	Detail	Sentiment	Tickers	IS CHANGE
2025-05-06	Commentary	TEAM: (May1'25 ER Transcript): "1.5 million monthly active users [in AI]... sales of premium enterprise additions are up over 40% year-on-year... customers who have deployed Rovo agents to now tens of thousands of unique workflows connected to automations are seeing great value." but struggling to monetize: We believe that by maximizing usage and adoption, we -- yes, we've always been patient with monetization, but we think we have a massive user expansion opportunity, both in terms of additions and also going wall-to-wall with more knowledge workers in those organizations.	Earnings Transcript	even	TEAM
2025-05-06	Commentary	TEAM: Company has a great product but has never made money and StockComp higher than most SaaS	Earnings Overview	bearish	TEAM
2026-06-04	Theme Refresh Synthesis	The theme is validated by constituents like CRM and GTLB actively embedding agentic AI into workflows. However, a key challenge remains translating AI innovation into measurable ROI, with adoption often lagging behind rapid development, reinforcing "agentic overhead" concerns. A significant trend is the widespread internal use of AI for productivity and operational excellence, indicating companies are first designing their own operations to be AI-ready.	Earnings Summary	Neutral	CRM, GTLB, HOOD	False

Constituents

HOODT12.0%
— Robinhood Markets, Inc.
APPT3
— AppLovin Corporation
CRMT3
— Salesforce, Inc.
GTLBT3
— GitLab Inc.
HUBST3
— HubSpot, Inc.
TWLOT3
— Twilio Inc.
ADBET3
· no notes yet
ADPT3
· no notes yet
APPNT3
· no notes yet
KVYOT3
· no notes yet
MNDYT3
· no notes yet
PEGAT3
· no notes yet
PINST3
· no notes yet
TEAMT3
· no notes yet
WDAYT3
· no notes yet
ZIPT3
· no notes yet