The Fifth Shift: Why Agentic Systems Will Redefine Software and What Comes Next

Todd Boes, Chief Product Officer at Snowplow, reflects on his career journey through major technological shifts, emphasizing the transformative potential of real-time behavioral context in software development. Boes highlights the evolution from client-server models, web interaction, mobile computing, and cloud-based APIs, to the emerging "agentic shift," where AI-powered systems act autonomously on behalf of users. This shift promises applications that are proactive rather than reactive, orchestrating user journeys and providing interventions rather than just interfaces. Snowplow Signals is introduced as a real-time customer intelligence system designed to equip AI applications with immediate access to live user behavior and historical data, thereby enabling personalized and predictive experiences. Boes emphasizes the urgency for companies to leverage this technology to maintain control over customer relationships, warning that failing to do so could lead to a loss of influence to third-party AI platforms. He calls on product and engineering leaders to actively participate in shaping this new paradigm, which he believes represents an unprecedented opportunity to redefine personalization and user interaction.