Instead of adding shallow AI features, focus on Agentic Experience (AX)

AI is leveling up, and it’s not just about what large language models (LLMs) can create – text, images, and videos. The real disruption? Giving computers agency. Instead of just following commands, they’re becoming autonomous agents, perceiving the world and taking action on their own.

Enter Agent Experience (AX), a term coined by Matt Biilman, CEO of Netlify.

Just like we’ve seen with “user experience” (UX) and “developer experience” (DX), AX is all about making products work seamlessly for AI agents. It’s about designing platforms that are easy for agents to use, with clean APIs and machine-ready documentation.

The future of AI isn’t about slapping on some flashy AI features, says Matt – it’s about crafting experiences that let agents work their magic, unlocking tons of value for users along the way.

How to make your products agent-friendly

As AI agents become more common, Matt envisions two approaches for how they interact with software:

• A closed vertical approach, where companies tightly integrate their own agents into their software,
• An open approach, where companies make their software accessible to external agents.

Currently, companies like Netlify, Clerk, ClarityText, and Neon are adopting AX to enhance collaboration between human users and AI agents, improving productivity and innovation. These early adopters are leading the charge in making their platforms more agent-friendly, recognizing the potential of AX to shape the future of software interaction.

Matt Billman explains why AX is crucial, saying:

Too many companies are focusing on adding shallow AI features all over their products or building yet another AI agent.

The real breakthrough will be thinking about how your customers’ favorite agents can help them derive more value from your product. This requires thinking deeply about agents as a persona your team is building and developing for.

He points out that companies focusing on AX will not only future-proof their products but also gain a huge competitive edge as AI agents become an integral part of the digital landscape.

Focus on AX or fall behind

According to Matt, generic SaaS tools are on their way out, and custom-built internal apps are the future. As development gets cheaper, the number of web apps will skyrocket.

For software companies, the key shift is this: design the AX of your product or get left behind by tools that let customers seamlessly collaborate with agents.

He talks about how Netlify grew by focusing on the shortest path from code to production. Now, their focus is on AX:

What is the shortest path for an agent to go from user input to URL in production? How do we make our primitives and APIs simple for LLMs to build with?

What new workflows are needed to make the collaboration between developer and agent not just efficient, but delightful?

Open agent ecosystem

It’s not just about Netlify – Matt says the whole industry needs to push the AX of the web forward. As we move from manual development to AI-assisted co-creation, AX will be crucial to serving users and helping developers create at scale.

So, ask yourself: What could an open AI agent audience unlock for your product? How could focusing on AX make a bigger impact? The industry, says Matt, needs to come together to build an open agent ecosystem and make AX a priority for a more connected digital world.

Matt Biilman will be speaking at Shift Conference taking place on September 14-16 in Zadar, Croatia, if you want to hear first-hand from him on why Agent Experience is important and how to make your platforms AX-friendly.