Sierra CEO Bret Taylor predicts AI agents will replace traditional software interfaces

Sierra co-founder and CEO Bret Taylor said artificial intelligence agents will fundamentally change how humans interact with software, potentially eliminating the need for traditional button-based interfaces. Speaking at the HumanX conference in San Francisco, Taylor argued that users will increasingly rely on natural language to complete tasks rather than navigating complex software systems. The former co-CEO of Salesforce made the comments following Sierra's launch last month of Ghostwriter, an agent designed to build other AI agents. The "agent as a service" tool allows users to describe what they need in plain language, prompting Ghostwriter to autonomously create and deploy a specialized agent to execute the task. Taylor cited the example of Workday, noting that employees typically only log in during onboarding and open enrollment periods. Taylor said Sierra is already leveraging Ghostwriter to deploy agents at accelerated speeds, including implementing an agent for Nordstrom in just four weeks. Sierra announced last fall that it reached $100 million in annual revenue run rate less than 21 months after its founding. The company was valued at $10 billion when it raised $350 million in September led by Greenoaks Capital.