Replit CEO Predicts the Rise of Self-Driving Companies Powered by AI Agents

Artificial intelligence could fundamentally change how businesses operate, with AI agents increasingly handling routine tasks while human employees focus on decision-making, creativity, and strategic planning.

Amjad Masad, CEO and co-founder of AI-powered software development platform Replit, believes the future of work will be shaped by what he calls the “self-driving company.” Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on October 15, 2026, Masad explained how AI agents are already transforming operations at Replit and how similar systems could reshape businesses across different industries.

Rather than eliminating the need for human workers entirely, his vision involves companies where AI performs much of the repetitive work, allowing people to concentrate on activities that require judgment, expertise, and creativity.

What Is a Self-Driving Company?

A self-driving company is an organization where AI agents perform many routine operational tasks with limited human intervention.

Instead of relying entirely on employees to handle every step of a process, businesses can deploy AI agents to investigate problems, analyze information, write software, review work, and prepare recommendations for human decision-makers.

At Replit, the transformation has already begun. According to Masad, AI agents now support multiple departments, helping the company coordinate work across engineering, customer support, sales, and other operational functions.

The concept goes beyond using AI as a chatbot or coding assistant. It involves connecting AI agents to the tools, information, and workflows employees use every day so that the systems can complete meaningful tasks from beginning to end.

However, human employees remain responsible for determining priorities, reviewing important decisions, and ensuring that the results meet business requirements.

How Replit Uses AI Agents to Run Its Operations

Masad offered customer support as an example of how AI agents are changing the company’s internal processes.

When a support ticket arrives, an AI agent initially investigates the issue by examining relevant GitHub issues, the company’s codebase, and project management records in Linear. It gathers information and prepares an assessment before the request reaches a human support employee.

If the issue requires a software fix, the employee can then deploy another agent to help develop a patch.

This approach allows AI systems to handle much of the preliminary investigation and technical work, while humans retain control over decisions that require judgment.

The result is a workflow in which multiple AI agents perform connected tasks instead of operating as isolated tools.

Replit believes this model can help employees spend less time gathering information and completing repetitive work and more time solving difficult problems.

Human Judgment Will Still Matter

Despite the growing capabilities of AI agents, Masad does not envision a future in which people become unnecessary.

Instead, he argues that the value of human employees will increasingly come from their ability to decide what matters, evaluate competing options, and guide the direction of a business.

As AI handles more execution, employees may spend more time discussing product architecture, developing ideas, evaluating trade-offs, and determining which projects deserve investment.

This distinction is important because AI systems can produce large amounts of work without necessarily understanding whether that work serves the company’s broader goals.

Human oversight remains essential for checking accuracy, managing risk, and making decisions where context and accountability matter.

The self-driving company, therefore, is not a business without people. It is a business in which people and AI agents divide responsibilities according to their respective strengths.

Could AI Agents Change the Future of Employment?

The growing adoption of AI agents raises questions about how jobs and workplace responsibilities will evolve.

Some routine tasks may require fewer hours of human labor as AI systems become more capable. Employees whose roles involve repetitive information processing, basic software development, customer support, or administrative work may see significant changes in their daily responsibilities.

At the same time, businesses may create new opportunities for workers who can manage AI systems, design effective workflows, evaluate AI-generated output, and make complex decisions.

Masad’s view is that AI could shift employees toward more creative and strategic responsibilities rather than simply replacing them.

However, the outcome is not guaranteed. The impact will depend on how individual companies deploy the technology, whether productivity gains lead to business expansion, and how employers choose to manage staffing and retraining.

For workers, developing skills in critical thinking, communication, problem-solving, and AI collaboration could become increasingly valuable.

Why Businesses Are Interested in Autonomous AI

Companies are exploring AI agents because they offer the possibility of completing complex workflows faster and reducing the amount of manual coordination required between teams.

An organization could use agents to investigate customer complaints, summarize sales information, prepare reports, identify software bugs, and coordinate routine tasks across different systems.

When these agents are connected through reliable workflows, businesses may be able to operate more efficiently without requiring employees to supervise every individual step.

But deploying autonomous systems also creates challenges. AI agents need appropriate permissions, secure environments, reliable error recovery, and clear limits on the actions they can take.

A system that can access company databases, modify software, or interact with business applications must be carefully controlled to prevent mistakes from spreading across an organization.

Successful adoption will require more than powerful AI models. Companies will also need strong security, monitoring, testing, and accountability processes.

Replit’s Vision for the Next Era of Work

Replit’s experience reflects a broader shift in the technology industry from AI tools that respond to individual prompts toward AI agents that can carry out longer sequences of work.

The company’s vision is that employees will increasingly describe goals, review outcomes, and make important decisions while AI agents handle much of the execution.

If this approach becomes widespread, the traditional structure of office work could change significantly. Teams might spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time designing products, evaluating opportunities, and deciding how to serve customers.

Nevertheless, the transition will take time. Businesses must establish trust in these systems, demonstrate measurable productivity improvements, and ensure that automation does not compromise quality or security.

Conclusion

Replit CEO Amjad Masad believes the next stage of artificial intelligence will involve companies that can automate much of their own day-to-day work through interconnected AI agents.

His concept of the self-driving company offers a vision in which technology handles repetitive execution while people concentrate on strategy, creativity, and judgment.

Whether this model becomes the standard for modern businesses remains uncertain. But as AI agents become more capable, organizations will increasingly need to rethink how work is assigned, how employees collaborate with technology, and where human oversight remains essential.

The future of work may not be about removing people from the workplace. It may be about changing what people do there.

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