I was listening to a podcast this morning that perfectly explained how we should think about emerging technologies, especially AI. The podcast mentioned that Apple’s recent event, WWDC, showed that AI is more of a feature than a standalone product. This idea hit home for me because it’s a question we’ve been pondering for a while: is new technology a feature or a product?
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to understand this better. Remember Clubhouse? During the pandemic, it was a hit. Clubhouse was an app where people could join live audio events. It became incredibly popular with everyone staying at home, shooting to the top of the App Store. Famous people joined, and major interviews and weekly shows were hosted on it. However, within a year or two, other apps like Spotify, Discord, Slack, and even Twitter added similar live audio features. As a result, Clubhouse’s unique appeal faded, and it became just another feature within bigger apps. Eventually, Clubhouse lost its popularity.
This brings us to the big question: Is AI a product or just a feature? Recently, we’ve seen attempts to make AI a product. Devices like the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 were dedicated to using AI, but they didn’t work well. Even if they had, they would represent AI as a standalone product. On the other hand, companies like Apple and Google have integrated AI into their existing products. For example, Apple’s WWDC showcased AI tools within their apps, like new writing tools powered by language models and an improved Siri. These features help users summarize, proofread, and change the style of their writing. They also introduced tools to generate images and emojis.
This approach shows a different way of thinking about AI. Instead of a separate product, AI is becoming a part of the devices and apps we already use. Although there are exceptions, like TikTok, which remains a popular standalone product despite similar features being added to Instagram and YouTube, it’s rare for a standalone product to be more successful than when its features are integrated into bigger apps.
So, what’s the future of AI? Will it become a popular standalone product, or will it just be another feature in our devices and apps? Only time will tell, but history suggests that more people will end up using AI as a feature rather than a separate product. It’s an interesting topic to think about, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.