AI products are still being figured out
The AI product landscape is young. What works today wasn’t known a few years ago. What works next year may be different again. The general principles of product still apply, but the specific patterns are emerging in real time, learned from products being shipped and refined.
Looking across the AI products that have produced real, durable usage so far — rather than just dramatic launches — a few patterns repeat. They’re not the only ways to succeed. They’re the patterns that show up often enough to be worth noticing.
Embed AI in real workflows, not as a separate place
The AI products that have stuck are usually the ones that fit inside how people already work.
Not “a place to talk to an AI.” Inside the email client. Inside the document. Inside the cod...
