Slapping "AI" on Everything

Somewhere around 2023, "AI" stopped being a technology descriptor and became a marketing strategy.

The Pattern

Take an existing product. Add a chatbot. Rebrand the landing page. Raise a round. The technology underneath often hasn't changed — only the label.

How to Spot the Difference

• Ask what the product did before AI was added
• Look for specifics — "AI-powered" means nothing
• Check whether removing the AI feature would make it meaningfully worse

Real AI capabilities are transformative. But most of what gets labelled AI is just software with better marketing.