Zocdoc CEO: will AI agents make your business more valuable or more vulnerable?

Zocdoc's CEO sees AI agents as a double-edged sword for businesses, potentially making them more valuable or more vulnerable. The CEO urged the leadership team to adapt quickly, emphasizing that waiting for certainty is an existential risk in the face of exponential change. Zocdoc has already initiated a "Welcome, Agents" campaign to invite AI agents to use their healthcare access infrastructure, leveraging their verified information and trusted results to become more valuable.

Companies like Shopify, Stripe, Airbnb, DoorDash, Lyft, SeatGeek, and Zocdoc stand to benefit from AI agents, as they provide essential infrastructure that makes agents reliable and trustworthy. However, companies relying on undifferentiated content or consumer interfaces that agents can bypass may find their competitive advantage diminished.

Zocdoc's infrastructure connects fragmented healthcare systems, insurance networks, provider schedules, and scheduling workflows, enabling agents to verify real-world transactions, such as in-network doctors and available appointment times. This new distribution channel aligns incentives for providers and AI agents, helping patients access care more efficiently.

The CEO advised leaders to identify what agents will commoditize, what they will make more valuable, and what their companies must build or change to benefit, emphasizing the importance of acting swiftly rather than waiting for certainty.