The ai coding agent just replaced a software vendor. mckinsey's state of ai 2026 survey, out…
the ai coding agent just replaced a software vendor. mckinsey's state of ai 2026 survey, out september 7, found 32% of companies abandoned at least one software purchase because an agent could build it in-house, rising to nearly half at high performers.
software revenue has a new competitor.
Context
A secondary article (Startup Fortune, 2 September 2026) says McKinsey's State of AI global survey 2026 was released on 25 August, with 1,719 participants surveyed between 4 May and 8 June, and that 32 percent of organizations decided against buying one or more software products or features because AI coding tools let them build in-house (41 percent in tech). High performers are defined as respondents saying AI contributed at least 5 percent of EBIT, about 6 percent of respondents.
The 32 percent comes from secondary coverage only: the McKinsey page fetched was the 2025 survey and had no software-purchase figure. It is a self-reported share deciding against buying one or more items, not abandoned purchases or cancelled subscriptions. The secondary text gives 25 August as the release date, and 7 September was not supported. A nearly half figure for high performers was not found. The text names AI coding tools, not an agent as such. Software revenue has a new competitor is the author's take.
Related work
- Earlier note on the same McKinsey survey ↗Same 32 percent claim.
- Earlier note on McKinsey and software sales ↗Same survey, different framing.
Watch next
- The 2026 McKinsey report text with the question wording and the high-performer figure.
Sources
Provenance
The note above is reproduced unedited from the original post, first published on Threads on 21 September 2026 at 14:15 IST. Sources are the papers and datasets the note draws on.
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