For decades, teams won by building better technology. Superior product capabilities were the ultimate moat. Engineering and Product teams were the crown jewel.
AI is beginning to change this script.
When AI helps more teams access advanced technical capabilities, superior tech skills and product features are becoming table stakes. The new advantage becomes trust, relationships, and human connection.
Think about your own buying decisions. You can get legal research, financial analysis, and market intelligence from AI tools now. But you still choose who to work with based on whether you trust them. You want someone who understands your real problems and someone you can rely on at all times.
The most defensible moats are migrating from tech to go-to-market.
Marketing becomes about authentic relationship building and trusted brand, not just messaging. Sales becomes consultative problem-solving, not feature demos. Customer Success becomes pragmatic retention approaches when switching costs drop.
This shifts organizational power dynamics. The functions that were once “just sales and marketing” suddenly own the most defensible advantages. Engineering and Product teams that dominated the “build it and they will come” era now need to develop relationship skills alongside their technical expertise.
The irony is interesting to me. In our rush to automate everything, we’ve made the most human skills the most valuable.
“People first, AI forward” becomes competitive strategy.
What are you seeing? Are the relationship builders at your company starting to feel more strategic than the tech builders?
Here’s another post with diagrams that reflect my views on this topic: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lizaadams_aifeatures-moat-competitive-activity-7257027920592871424-qo_s