The Robots Are Coming for Your RFPs (And Why You Still Need a Human Copilot)

Let's be honest for a moment: nobody—absolutely nobody—wakes up eager to draft a Request for Proposal (RFP). If you're an association executive, you're all too familiar with the process. You recognize that your current Association Management System (AMS) is outdated. You assemble a committee. You spend months gathering requirements. You endure countless demos that start to blend together, with enthusiastic salespeople insisting that their platform is the "all-in-one" solution to your membership challenges. You debate over "per-seat" licensing fees for staff members who log in perhaps once a month. It's a necessary evil, but it's rarely enjoyable.

But what if the next time you went to buy software, there was actual software did the buying for you? We recently reviewed a fascinating, arguably prophetic piece by Joe McKendrick from Forbes, titled "AI Agents Are Poised To Take Over Software Buying, But Are We Ready?" (Source: Forbes). It paints a picture of a near-future that sounds like science fiction, but whoa there, don't saddle up your flying cars just yet, it's not scientific fact (yet?).

At SmartThoughts, we have spent over 20 +years guiding associations through the labyrinth of software selection. We have seen the industry shift from "on-premise" servers (remember the dusty closet in the breakroom?) to the Cloud and SaaS (Software as a Service). Now, according to the insights from McKendrick and industry experts, we are standing on the precipice of the next massive shift: The Agentic Era.

For association leadership, this raises a massive question: If robots are doing the buying, do you still need consultants? Do you still need SmartThoughts?

The answer might surprise you.

Spoiler alert: You might need us now more than ever, but for reasons you never saw coming!

The "Netflix Moment" for Software Procurement

The Forbes article draws a brilliant parallel to how we consume media. We went from buying physical DVDs to streaming content over the wire (Netflix). The software industry did the same, moving from physical disks to SaaS. But the next transition isn't just about delivery; it's about autonomy. As noted in the piece, we are moving toward a world where "AI software is writing more software."

But it goes further: Software will soon be deciding, purchasing, and installing new software.

Imagine an AI agent within your ecosystem realizing that your email marketing open rates are dropping. Instead of waiting for a human Director of Marketing to notice, the agent analyzes the market, identifies a better deliverability tool, negotiates a trial, and presents you with a "switch" recommendation—all before you’ve finished your morning coffee.

For the association market, which is often resource-constrained and time-poor, the idea of "exponential productivity" is tantalizing. But it also disrupts everything we know about how we budget for technology.

The Death of "Per-Seat" Pricing

This is the part that should make every CFO and Executive Director sit up and take notes. For the last decade, the dominant business model for association tech has been "Per-Seat" or "Per-User" pricing. You pay for the number of staff members who need access to the system.

The Forbes article highlights a critical flaw in this model moving forward: AI agents don't sit in seats.

As Vara Kumar Namburu points out in the article, "We're entering a new era where AI agents become the primary users of SaaS." If you deploy an AI agent to handle 80% of your member renewal processing, data entry, and event registration queries, why are you paying for 20 staff licenses?

In the years ahead, the software industry is predicted to shift toward Outcome-Based Pricing.

• Instead of paying for a "seat," you might pay for "resolutions" (e.g., how many member queries the AI answered).

• You might pay for "outcomes" (e.g., a percentage of the dues revenue recovered by the AI).

• Or, as mentioned in the article regarding Zendesk, you pay "$1.50 per actual case resolution."

This is a fairer model on paper, aligning the vendor’s incentives with your mission’s success. If the software doesn't deliver the outcome, you don't pay. However, it requires a complete rethink of how we review contracts.

"Agentic Licensing": The New Wild West With AI Agents

The article introduces the concept of "Agentic Licensing." In the SaaS world, humans bought access. In the Agentic world, software buys autonomy. Dor Sasson, CEO of Stigg.io, is quoted as noting that AI agents "care about the license to act, to read data, execute workflows, and make decisions."

For an association, this raises critical governance questions.

• Security: If an AI agent from a vendor negotiates with an AI agent from another vendor, who signs the check?

• Permission: Do we give software the "license to act" on behalf of our members?

So, If AI Does the Buying, Do You Need SmartThoughts?

This is the elephant in the room. If an AI agent can scan the web, compare feature sets, and even negotiate pricing, does the role of the "Software Consultant" become obsolete?

If our job were simply to list vendors and check boxes, the answer would be yes. But at SmartThoughts, our role has never been just about the list. It’s about the decision, the process, and the nuances of the vendor relationships. And that is where AI hits a wall.

Here is why the "Agentic Era" actually makes the role of an independent advisor like SmartThoughts more critical, not less.

1. AI Can't Read "Association Politics" or Manage the "Relationships."

An AI agent can tell you which AMS has the best API documentation. It cannot tell you which AMS will cause a revolt among your membership department because the workflow contradicts how they’ve done things for 20 years. Software selection is 20% technology and 80% change management. AI fails at the human nuance of "fit." We excel at it.

2. The "Outcome-Based" Trap

Remember that "Outcome-Based Pricing" we mentioned? It sounds great, but it is incredibly complex to negotiate.

• How do you define an "outcome"?

• If the AI "resolves" a member's query but the member is angry, do you still pay the $1.50?

• How do you audit the vendor's AI to ensure it isn't inflating its own success metrics to bill you more?

In this new world, you don't need a consultant for some aspects of the search, perhaps, but you will certainly need a consultant to audit the contract. You need someone who understands the "Agentic Economy" to ensure you aren't trading "per-seat" overpayment for "per-outcome" extortion. SmartThoughts acts as that neutral third party to validate the ROI models these new AI vendors are pitching.

3. Vendor-Agnostic vs. Algorithmically Biased

If you use an AI tool provided by a search engine or a vendor marketplace to "find" your software, guess what? That AI is likely biased. It operates on algorithms that can be influenced by ad spend or data availability. That is an important difference. We have years of experience and expertise in recognizing the "gotchas" that many AI can encounter...

SmartThoughts remains fiercely independent. Our mission is "Your Mission, Your Money, Your Choice." We don't accept commissions. In a world where AI agents might be secretly incentivized to push certain products, having a human advocate who is paid only by you is the ultimate insurance policy.

4. AI Strategy Is The New Selection

The article mentions that preparing for this era means "rearchitecting your platform from the ground up." You aren't just buying an AMS anymore; you are buying a "Digital Nervous System." You need to know if the vendor you are selecting today is ready for the Agentic future tomorrow.

• Does their API allow for agents?

• Do they have a clue what Model Context Protocol is?

• Is their data structured for AI training?

• Or are they, as Bryan Murphy warns in the article, just "bolting AI onto products designed for a different era"?

We help you discern the innovators from the impostors. We act as your bullshit detector (pardon the French) when a vendor says, "We have AI."

The "Awkward Middle Ground"

Here is the twist of sarcasm (and reality check) we promised. Just because the future is Agentic AI, that doesn't mean your current vendors are ready for it. In fact, most aren't. Most enterprises are stuck in an "awkward middle ground."

Murphy’s advice to buyers is spot on for our clients: "In the future, if you're paying per seat but agents are handling 60% of the volume, something's broken."

But try telling that to a legacy vendor sales rep who has a quota to hit. They aren't going to volunteer that information. You need someone on your side of the table—someone who knows the market trends and the Forbes insights—to push back and say, "No, we aren't paying for seats that robots are filling."

What This Means for Association Leadership

You are likely not the IT Director. You are the CEO, the COO, or possibly a Board President. You care about the mission, not the code. So, why does this matter to you?

1. Your Budget is About to Change: The line item for "Technology" will shift from a fixed operational cost to a variable cost based on outcomes. You need strategic advisement to forecast this accurately.

2. The "Safe" Choice is Risky: If you buy into this line of thinking, the big, established players in the association market are often the slowest to pivot. A vendor clinging to per-seat pricing in an AI world is a vendor that might not be here in five to seven years.

3. Efficiency vs. Strategy: AI agents can handle the "routine" (renewals, registrations). This frees your human staff to do what they do best: build relationships. But you need the right AI Strategy to ensure those agents are representing your brand correctly.

At SmartThoughts, we are evolving alongside the market. We aren't just "Software Selectors"; we are Technology Strategy Architects.

As we move into this "Agentic Era," the confusion is only going to increase. Vendors will use buzzwords to hide antiquated pricing models and their true AI abilities. They will promise "AI" but deliver simple scripts (at best).

We help associations cut through the noise.

• AI Strategy: We help you determine where "Agents" fit into your workflow.

• Software Selection: We ensure you buy platforms that are actually future-proof, not just shiny.

• Contract Review: We help you navigate the shift to outcome-based pricing so you don't get taken for a ride.

The robots might be coming for the buying process, but they can't replace the strategic vision of your leadership or the trusted partnership of an advisor who puts your mission first. Let’s make sure your tools—and your contracts—are working for you, not just billing you.

Future-Proof Your Association: Take the AI Cognitive Core Readiness Assessment

The rise of AI isn't just about streamlining procurement—it's about fundamentally redefining your association's operational and strategic capabilities. The "human copilot" advantage you seek requires more than just new tools; it demands a unified foundation. This is the premise of the Association AI Cognitive Core Framework: the blueprint for integrating AI across your data, processes, and executive decision-making. If your leadership team doesn't have a shared, objective view of its current AI maturity, you are already falling behind. Don't let your "human copilot" be grounded by systemic blind spots. Identify the exact steps needed to build a competitive and resilient association.

Ready to Go Beyond the RFP? Take the Free AI Cognitive Core Readiness Assessment.

Stop guessing and start building a definitive AI roadmap. Our 5-minute assessment provides an objective snapshot of your organization's current maturity across the critical pillars of the Association AI Cognitive Core Framework, giving you the clarity needed to lead.

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Contact SmartThoughts today.

Source:

McKendrick, J. (2025, December 11). AI Agents Are Poised To Take Over Software Buying, But Are We Ready? Forbes. Link to article