Software and other AI-exposed stocks have stumbled out of the gate this year, with the sell-off picking up pace in February as fresh fears emerged that artificial intelligence could disrupt, rather than fuel, demand.

• What’s pushing IGV stock higher?

Concerns intensified after new announcements from Anthropic's Claude Cowork and Google's Genie 3 reignited questions about who really wins in the next phase of AI.

Yet, this hasn't triggered a full-blown market panic. Instead, investors are quietly moving on, and the escape routes are becoming easier to spot.

Goldman Sachs equity strategist Ben Snider says capital is rotating decisively toward sectors viewed as insulated from AI disruption, not those most closely tied to the theme.

That distinction is crucial, and it marks a clear break from last year's market playbook, when exposure to AI was seen almost universally as a tailwind.

AI-Insulated Industries Take Off

Cyclical and consumer-linked industries have extended recent rallies as software stocks sold off.

Strikingly, as software stocks suffered one of their worst weeks since the 2022 rate-hike panic, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a bellwether of ...