The Great Unbundling: How AI is Breaking Apart Software and What It Means for You
For years, software companies tried to pack as many tools as possible into one big product. Think of apps like Microsoft Office, which gives you Word, Excel, PowerPoint, email, and more, all in the same bundle. The idea was simple: if they gave you everything in one place, you would never need to look anywhere else.
But today, something new is happening. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is quietly breaking these bundles apart. Instead of using one giant app for everything, people are turning to smaller AI tools that do a single job extremely well. For example, instead of opening PowerPoint to design slides, someone might ask an AI tool to design a full presentation in seconds. Instead of a complicated video editor, a simple AI tool can turn a script into a video automatically.
This shift is called “the great unbundling.” AI is taking pieces of large software products and turning them into small, easy services anyone can use without training. You no longer have to learn ten menus and fifty buttons, you can just ask the AI to do the work.
This changes who can create things. In the past, you needed skills to use advanced software. Now someone with no training can make designs, edit videos, write code, or build websites using AI helpers. The tools are getting faster, cheaper, and easier, which means more people can participate and create.
For companies, this is a big shake-up. If one AI tool replaces just one feature of a large software product, customers might begin to skip the full product altogether. Instead of paying for a big subscription, they might pay for only the tiny part they need. This is similar to how people stopped buying full music albums when streaming made single songs easier to access.
For everyday users, this is great news. You don’t need to be a “power user” anymore. You can choose the exact tool you need in the moment, and most of the hard work is done for you. But it also means there will be more choices than ever before, and knowing which AI tool to pick may become the new challenge.
The future of software is no longer “all-in-one.” It is becoming “exactly what you need, exactly when you need it.” AI is unbundling the old systems and building a world where creativity and productivity are available to everyone, not just experts.
