AI Agents vs App Empires: The 2026 Tech Showdown

As AI agents promise to automate tasks like booking travel or ordering groceries, app developers face a chilling reality: their businesses could be reduced to 'core services' with no control over user engagement. For regional food delivery services and other mid-sized app developers, the rise of AI-powered 'operating systems' from Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI threatens to bypass their platforms entirely. Only 2.1% of ChatGPT users sought purchase-related information in September 2024, yet the structural risks remain acute.

API Access Barriers and Operational Fractures

Startups like Rabbit, which developed the R1 device to integrate with third-party services, have had to resort to workarounds to access APIs from companies like Uber. Similarly, Perplexity’s shopping agent faced direct legal pressure from Amazon, illustrating how API access barriers create operational hurdles.

Anjney Midha, CEO of Perplexity, warned: 'If companies don’t have deep control over the supply of their product, it is going to be very hard for them to operate in a world where they have to reach users through an AI agent.'

Internal Fragmentation and Market Uncertainty

Even within AI labs, internal disagreements are surfacing. Jerry Tworek, OpenAI’s VP of research, left the company over 'disagreements with research direction,' citing a need to 'explore types of research that are hard to do at OpenAI.' This fragmentation signals broader uncertainty about how AI agents will integrate into existing ecosystems.

Meanwhile, product availability remains uneven: R1 is a paid device, Alexa+ offers integrated features, and ChatGPT’s free users will soon see ads, further complicating monetization strategies.