We’re entering a weird new phase. AI is everywhere. It writes, it talks, it “supports”. It can even fake a whole company if you want. Just spin up a landing page, slap in a chatbot, connect Stripe, done. And this is just starting.
I suspect we’ll see more and more products built with an extractivist mindset. Like mining: get the most out of the mountain while it lasts, then move on. Quick launch, fast cash, no real team, no real plan. Maybe just a solopreneur automating everything, including support.
And some of those products might work, at least for a while. But people will start to notice.
They’ll notice the silence behind the chatbot. The docs that feel like they were stitched together by scraping other tools. The ignored feature requests, the updates that never come. The vibe that there’s no one really there.
“Human-Powered” becomes the differentiator
In a world where everything looks polished and automated, what stands out is presence: a real person replying to your email or chat. Docs written with care and insight. A Product team that pushes the boundaries, evolving based on actual feedback, not just metrics and LLM models. That will be rare. And rare becomes valuable.
“Human-powered” will be the new signal of trust. It tells you the product is real. The team is real. The experience is real. Not just another AI-skinned startup optimized for exit.
Maybe in a not-too-distant future, “Human-Powered” will be like organic food, or clothes made without slave labor, or carbon-neutral products. A label that says: “This was made by Humans who stand behind it.”
And it’s not about going anti-AI. Let’s be honest: we’ll still use AI to back up our work, to speed things up, to automate the boring parts. That’s fine. That’s smart.
But… removing humans from the customer experience? Denying human contact? That feels like a scam.
Humans matter because we’re unpredictable. Disruptive. Emotional. A customer insults your product, and you feel it. You react. You grow. A teammate has a wild idea that breaks something, but also opens a door. That friction is where the magic happens. That’s what pushes boundaries.
AI can optimize
Humans can dream
People can tell the difference
I think “Human-Powered” is going to become the next big differentiator. Not just a nice extra, but the thing that sets real products apart.
Let’s start making that visible.
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