AI Innovation vs. Novelty

This post was originally shared on our CEO Sandeep Sood's LinkedIn profile. Join this conversation and others there.

Last week, Public, an investment app, launched Alpha, adding a chat prompt 'investment advisor' to their app, powered by ChatGPT.

(yawn)

This is likely just the beginning of many such announcements. Startups and large institutions will race to make PR splashes with hastily-developed AI functionality designed to convince investors and markets that they are not missing out on the latest trend.

Most of these improvements will be little more than novelty features that users will play with for a bit before they realize they do little to improve their overall experience.

Adding a text prompt to your app is a lazy move. OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft own that space; and with the exception of customer service, there is likely little to be gained for your users through adding AI-powered chat to an app.

The real innovations will take time and deep effort. They will require product managers to rethink the user experience from the ground up, and when they are implemented with careful thought, they will truly feel like magic.