# Tim O'Reilly asks whether AI's killer app has arrived yet

> Original title: Where Are the “Killer Apps” of AI?

- Source: O'Reilly Radar
- Published: 2026-11-11T15:43:41.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/gvjtzlxnzc1u6dzroyyuorjh8
- Original: https://www.oreilly.com/radar/where-are-the-killer-apps-of-ai/

## Summary

Tim O'Reilly argues that AI's killer app may not have arrived yet, comparing today's chatbots and coding agents with the browser and BASIC-era tools that came before the breakthrough applications. He says that AI's timeline roughly matches past platform cycles, and that missing mechanisms for payments, identity and accountability for agents may be holding back the next wave of applications.