Software Moats in the Age of AI: What's Actually Defensible?

Why the "AI writes code now" narrative misses the point—and where competitive advantages stubbornly persist

Another pitch deck lands on your desk. Another startup promises to "displace custom software development." Another analyst proclaims coding is now a commodity. Another LinkedIn thought leader announces developers are obsolete.

You've heard variations for eighteen months. And yet—enterprise software spending hasn't collapsed. Professional services firms keep hiring. COBOL programmers are getting paid (handsomely!).

Where's the disconnect?

The Moat Everyone Forgot

Traditional software moats centered on code: proprietary algorithms, accumulated functionality, engineering discipline, the sheer grind required to replicate something. Two years and $20 million to build something equivalent? That was your moat.

AI compresses that timeline—for greenfield development, building from scratch.…