What if the biggest risk right now isn’t a bad deal - but doing nothing?
While most buyers wait for the AI dust to settle, the ones who understand what’s happening are quietly buying assets at discounts that won’t exist a year from now.
The shift isn’t theoretical. Digital Trends lost 90% of its Google traffic - from 8.5M clicks to 65K. HubSpot lost nearly half its organic traffic in two months. Atlassian dropped 35% as enterprise usage declined. Salesforce fell 28%. And Monday.com replaced a 24-person sales team with AI in minutes.
This has already happened.
So the real question isn’t if AI is reshaping the market - it’s whether you know which businesses are still worth buying, how to price the risk, and when to walk away.
In this episode, Jaryd breaks down how to spot hidden value in “declining” assets, why some SaaS models are collapsing, and how AI risk can be used as leverage - not fear. Because the buyers winning right now aren’t panicking or waiting.
They’re moving with a strategy.
🎧 Hit play - this is your edge in an AI-disrupted market.
Episode Highlights
00:47 - A practical guide to which business models are winning vs. losing in the AI era.
04:06 - Can AI cheaply replace this business’s core value?
06:21 - Digital Trends (-90% traffic) and HubSpot (major drop) show the new reality for content sites.
09:19 - SaaS shake-up: Atlassian, Salesforce decline; Monday.com replaces sales with AI.
16:42 - Branded e-commerce with real equity is the most AI-resistant play.
21:31 - AI-hit businesses = best deals if you use risk to negotiate, not walk away.
26:52 - Klarna shows AI can replace support at scale -cutting costs post-acquisition.
Key Takeaways
➥ Always ask: Can AI replace this business cheaply? If yes, don’t walk - reprice and structure with earnouts.
➥ Single-source traffic (like Google) is now a dealbreaker. Value current performance and build growth outside SEO.
➥ Use AI risk as leverage - lower the price and tie payments to future performance.
➥ AI-resistant businesses have proprietary data, a strong brand, and real customer relationships.
➥ Distressed, AI-hit businesses are undervalued - but only if you have a clear turnaround plan.
Resource Links
➥ Connect with Jaryd here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarydkrause
➥ Buying Online Businesses Website - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com
➥ Download the Due Diligence Framework - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/freeresources/
➥ Sell your business to us here - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/sell-your-business/
➥ Google Ads Service - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/ads-services/
Buy & Sell Online Businesses Here (Top Website Brokers We Use) 🔥
➥ Empire Flippers - https://bit.ly/3RtyMkE
➥ Flippa - https://bit.ly/3wGa8r5
➥ Motion Invest - https://bit.ly/3YmJAmO
➥ Investors Club - https://bit.ly/3ZpgioR
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