1 Creating value with AI-driven products
This chapter covers
- Why almost any product can be enhanced with AI
- How AI products differ from “traditional” software
- How AI projects often go wrong
- Mental model for AI systems
- The skillset of an AI product builder
Let’s kick this off with a bold statement: If your business offers digital products or services, AI can enhance or even completely transform it. AI can optimize internal operations - for example, by refining marketing strategies based on customer data or automating routine customer support tasks. For better or for worse, AI can extend existing products with new features like the omnipresent customer service chatbot. It can even be the foundation of entirely new, disruptive products—think of code generation tools like Vercel’s v0.dev, which allow us to build and deploy apps at unprecedented speed. The technology is here, and businesses that integrate AI effectively are building their AI acumen and gaining a competitive edge.