Bret Taylor says AI agents are set to replace click-based software interfaces
Sierra’s bet on natural language
The era of clicking through software menus may be nearing its end, according to Sierra co-founder and CEO Bret Taylor. Speaking at the HumanX conference in San Francisco this week, Taylor argued that the way people interact with enterprise software is about to shift from screens and buttons to natural language.
Taylor, who previously served as co-CEO of Salesforce, said many business tools are used too infrequently for employees to learn them well. “You sign into Workday when you onboard as a new employee, and maybe for open enrollment,” he said, using that example to illustrate his point. Rather than forcing users to navigate complex interfaces, Taylor said he believes they will increasingly describe what they need and let AI systems handle the rest.
“I truly think that’s where the world is going,” Taylor said.
Ghostwriter as an agent builder
Sierra’s latest product, Ghostwriter, is meant to push that idea further. Launched last month, the tool is designed to build other agents. The company describes it as an “agent as a service” offering that can replace traditional web applications with a prompt-based workflow.
In practice, users tell Ghostwriter what task they want completed, and the system autonomously creates and deploys a specialized agent to do it. Taylor said Sierra is already using the product to deploy agents at “unparalleled speeds,” pointing to an implementation for Nordstrom that he said took just four weeks.
The pitch reflects a broader belief among AI companies that software interfaces themselves may become less important as agents take over more of the work now done through clicks and menus. For Sierra, that vision is tied directly to enterprise automation, where many workflows are repetitive, specialized and infrequently used.
The startup has moved quickly to capitalize on that opportunity. Sierra said last fall that it had reached $100 million in annual revenue run rate less than 21 months after founding. The company was last valued at $10 billion after raising a $350 million round led by Greenoaks Capital in September.
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