In my current role, I get lots of people asking me how to “add AI” or “take advantage of AI” in their online product or service. What I tell them is simple:
Treat AI as a tool, not a feature
Tool vs. Feature
When I say AI is a tool, I mean it in the most practical sense. AI should be used to help you design, implement, deploy, and monitor your products and services. It should sit in the workshop with you — shaping the blueprint, checking the code, watching the logs, spotting the anomalies. A good tool makes the work that matters easier, more consistent, and more reliable.
When I say AI is a feature, I mean the opposite. This is essentially the checkbox approach: “Now with AI!” slapped onto a product with little thought for value or longevity. These bolt-ons are often buzz-worthy, but not product-worthy. They’re the product equivalent of AI slop — hastily dumped into the product, cluttering things up, and adding more garbage than value.
The Real Stakes
Features fade. Tools endure.
There’s a deeper risk: features can actually freeze service evolvability. A flashy AI add-on can end up hard-coding assumptions into your product that become brittle over time. When the fashion fades, you’re left with an awkward bolt-on that not only looks dated but slows down future development. What once seemed like a great addition now clutters the product roadmap, adding drag instead of lift.
Features fade. Tools endure.
Takeaway
If you want AI to mean something in your work, stop treating it as a shiny feature. Put it to work as part of your existing toolkit. One that helps you build, deliver, and sustain the things that matter to your customers. When applied as a tool, AI has the potential to strengthen your market position by improving how you create and operate your services, without saddling your product with the kind of fast-fashion slop that fades with the trend cycle.