So many companies are simply using AI to build apps/software/websites faster and easier? Essentially just AI-generated versions of what already exists. Not actually AI-powered.

Most of what’s being built right now isn’t really innovation. It’s digital déjà vu.
The same old solutions, built again with AI doing the heavy lifting but solving the same old problems in the same old ways.

I’m guilty of this too. And if I’m honest, that’s not progress. That’s doing the same old stuff, at a faster pace.

Faster isn’t the same as better.

Recently I met with a company in a lagging industry excited to show off their new digital platform. Their big idea? An app to help teams organize files, manage tasks, and keep track of important documents.

Essentially, a basic document management system with a slightly more modern look. Another dashboard. Another task list. Another system that still expected people to dig for answers.

So I asked a simple question, “What are people actually trying to accomplish when they log in? What if AI took all of this information and told your customers exactly what they want to know when they need to know it.. or better yet, what if AI proactively made helpful suggestions/nudges based on these unstructured docs and data without being asked?”

Silence.

Managing files and tracking tasks isn’t really what people are trying to do. They’re trying to get the information they need to understand what’s happening without wasting time.

Nobody wants to spend their afternoon clicking through folders and filtering tables to figure out what’s next or when something important is scheduled. They just want to ask, “When is this happening?” or “What’s the current status?” and have the system tell them the answer directly.

That’s not making the same experience faster. That’s making the experience smarter and removing the friction entirely.

A lot of people aren’t using AI to its full potential.

It’s easy to get trapped building what’s familiar. Dashboards, CRMs, project trackers. We’ve used these tools for years, but they were never the goal. They were just the best we could build at the time.

At a recent event, I saw this play out live. A group of folks built working web apps in a couple of hours using AI tools. It was impressive, but also revealing.

Most of the ideas created that night were digital replicas of existing processes. Tools people had seen before but wanted to move faster. Few people asked, “How could this be completely different if we weren’t stuck thinking about the old way of doing things?”

That’s the real opportunity. And it starts by asking better questions.

Want to build smarter products? Here are some questions to get you started.

Solve the real question/problem, don’t just update the interface.
Don’t ask “How can we improve this dashboard or digitize this process?” Ask “What answer does the user need and how do we remove every step between them and that answer?”

For example, instead of building a new expense tracking app to help people organize receipts better, ask why they need to manage receipts at all. What if the system automatically categorized transactions and only surfaced an alert when something needed their attention?

Design for the experience that isn’t there.
The best AI products are invisible. They don’t add more buttons. They remove the need for them entirely.

For example, check out Spotify’s weekly discover feature. You don’t set up a playlist. You just open the app and something fresh is waiting for you. That is invisible experience design. AI should work the same way by anticipating needs before people even know to ask.

Still not sure what this looks like in practice? Here are some quick ideas for inspiration.

If you’re wondering how to apply this thinking, here are ten practical examples of how AI can transform a product experience beyond just making it faster:

1. Replace complex navigation with natural language search.
   Let users ask plain questions instead of clicking through endless menus and filters. “Show me this month’s revenue by region” beats drilling into four dashboard tabs.

2. Turn notifications into recommendations.
   Instead of sending generic logic or time-based alerts, use AI to suggest specific actions based on patterns and context. For example, “Your lead response times have slipped this week. Want to schedule reminder emails?”

3. Automatically summarize what matters most.
   Generate bite-sized, prioritized summaries of project updates, sales pipelines, or customer feedback without users having to sift through raw data.

4. Surface insights before users ask for them.
   Predict and deliver relevant information based on user behavior. For example, “Last week you checked supplier delivery times. Here’s an updated on-time performance report.”

5. Use AI agents to handle routine tasks behind the scenes.
   Build invisible workflows that manage repetitive actions like data entry, meeting scheduling, or onboarding steps without manual intervention.

6. Transform long-form content into actionable checklists.
   Take detailed reports or how-to guides and turn them into interactive, step-by-step checklists that guide the user through execution.

7. Pre-fill forms and draft inputs using contextual AI.
   Instead of asking users to fill in repetitive details, predict and suggest relevant data based on recent activity. For example, auto-drafting client proposals based on previous project summaries.

8. Add decision support, not just data visualization.
   Don’t just show a chart. Help users interpret it. For example, “Sales are trending down 5% this quarter. The top three contributing factors are…”

9. Personalize UX without asking for preferences.
   Train AI models to learn preferences through behavior rather than tedious onboarding surveys.

10. Make the product disappear when it should.
    The smartest products know when not to interrupt. Build systems that remove clutter and step aside when no action is needed, creating a calm, focused experience.

Putting this into action

• Review your product or service. Ask yourself, “Am I solving the real problem or just improving old tools?”

• Ask your team, “If our users could ask a single question and instantly get the answer, what would that experience look like?” And why aren’t we building that right now?

The future isn’t about doing the old things faster and easier.

Stop building yesterday’s products. Start building experiences so intuitive and effortless that people can’t imagine how they ever lived without them. That’s where the real opportunity lives. And it’s wide open for those willing to rethink, not just rebuild.

Onward & upward 🤘

Drew

P.s. If we haven’t met yet, hello! I’m Drew Burdick, Founder and Managing Partner at StealthX. We work with brands to design and build great customer experiences that win. I share ideas weekly through this newsletter and over on the Building Great Experiences podcast. Have a question? Feel free to contact us. I’d love to hear from you.