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it feels like we’re using AI to fix bad processes instead of removing them

I noticed something today that perfectly illustrates how companies forget about people. After paying at a store, I had to stand there for a couple of minutes while the cashier finished the process. Right in front of me was a huge display flashing between a bright white screen and a black screen over and over again. Nothing useful. Nothing interactive. Just a bright animation a few inches from my face. At that moment, I wasn’t shopping anymore. I was simply waiting. The experience wasn’t bad because I had to wait. It was bad because the product didn’t care about what waiting feels like. We spend so much time optimizing discovery, merchandising, checkout flows, loyalty programs, and mobile apps. Then completely ignore the last 30 seconds of the experience. Good products don’t stop caring after you click “Pay.” Sometimes empathy is as simple as asking: What is the person looking at while they’re waiting?

I used to believe that if people knew the right way to do something, they would naturally do it. Years spent working in learning changed my mind. I watched hundreds of people complete training and clearly understand the process. A week later, many of them were back to doing things the way they always had. That’s when I realized that knowledge rarely changes behavior on its own. If your product depends on changing people’s habits, you’re playing a long game. That’s why I’ve stopped thinking about onboarding as the finish line. It’s the moment when the real work begins.

Having children taught me more about product design than most product books. They don’t tell you what’s wrong. They just stop using it.

A few years ago, solving a problem usually started with finding the right app or website. If you wanted to compare TVs, plan a trip, create a workout routine, or calculate a mortgage, you looked for a dedicated service. Now, the first step is often to ask AI. Sometimes it recommends a tool, but more and more often it solves the problem itself. I think that’s the real shift. AI isn’t just changing how software is built. It’s changing whether software is the first place people go at all.

I’ve realized I judge products differently now. The ones I appreciate most don’t add another app, account, habit, or notification. They quietly remove something instead. One less decision. One less thing to remember. One less reason to open another app. Maybe that’s the best way to judge products. Not by what they add, but by what they make unnecessary. The best products don’t ask for a place in our lives. They quietly give part of our lives back.