AI is revolutionizing how we conduct business, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the key to this transformation lies in the seamless integration of domain-specific APIs. Instead of navigating multiple platforms, clients can now interact with AI-powered chat interfaces—like ChatGPT, Claude, or DeepSeek—to get work done efficiently.

This shift mirrors the iPhone’s evolution, where a single device consolidated essential tools like phone calls, music, photos, email, and calendars into one ecosystem. In the near future, the same will happen with software applications. Instead of opening FactSet for financial analysis, Bloomberg Terminal for market data, or Amazon for purchases, users will simply interact with a single interface—a chat-based AI assistant—to access everything they need.

The Future of Business Competition: API-First Strategy

For businesses, the real competition will be in providing the most comprehensive, efficient, and intelligent API services. These APIs will be packaged into Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, allowing companies to upload their services online for customers to purchase and use seamlessly.

A prime example of this is Manus, which recently demonstrated its next-level capability by leveraging MCP servers to act as a highly versatile AI agent. It can call multiple MCP servers in the background to perform complex tasks, such as stock correlation analysis and deeper financial insights.

AI-Driven Index Solutions: The Next Evolution

Take our Index Solutions team as an example. With our proprietary expertise and intellectual property, we excel at constructing and managing index-based solutions. In the AI-driven future, clients won’t need to go through endless email exchanges with us to make requests. Instead, they’ll simply open a chat window, ask what they need, and our “Index Solution MCP Server” will handle the request instantly.

For instance, a client could ask:
“I want to run a performance attribution (PA) analysis for two indexes.”
“I need to create a plain vanilla quantum computing index portfolio focused on U.S. or Asian stocks.”
“I have a portfolio and need to apply a 10% cap on individual holdings and a 35% cap on industry groups.”
“I need a broker research or transcript database search for the keyword ‘humanoid’ over the past year.”
“I want to build a portfolio of Tesla’s suppliers, customers, and partners.”

The AI-Powered Future Is Inevitable

The shift toward a single AI-driven interface will fundamentally change how businesses operate. Clients won’t need to learn multiple platforms or toggle between various applications. Instead, they’ll rely on a unified AI-powered assistant capable of executing complex requests in real time.

Businesses that successfully wrap their services in powerful APIs, deploy them in MCP servers, and integrate them into AI-driven chat interfaces will dominate the future of digital commerce. The question isn’t whether this transformation will happen—it’s how quickly companies can adapt and position themselves at the forefront of this AI-powered revolution.