Policy

January 17, 2026, 3:54 AM EST. Industry leaders warn that off-the-shelf AI tools could compress differentiation. As firms deploy the same models, capabilities risk converging, reducing pricing power and hard-to-copy advantages. Analysts say the competitive moat around a business-data, processes, and customer relationships-will be harder to sustain. Firms that rely on proprietary data or heavy customization may still win, but the edge now hinges on speed, integration, and execution, not just access to the latest tool. Regulators and investors are watching governance, data privacy, and model auditability as AI adoption scales. The dynamic could redraw industry margins, accelerating consolidation in some sectors while inviting new, efficiency-driven entrants in others.