How Consumer Psychology Informs AI Product Design

Image models can also improve here. Midjourney’s Explore (formerly Showcase) is nice—I enjoy perusing trending creations—but I want to see what my own contacts have created.

I would draw a distinction from the egg theory. The core of the egg theory is that when a product or process is too easy, people don’t feel a sense of contribution or accomplishment. The IKEA effect, though, focuses on the value people place on things they’ve had a hand in creating.

AI seems to be in its single-player era. I expect we see more networks form, and products should get more social and collaborative over time.

I would draw a distinction from the egg theory. The core of the egg theory is that when a product or process is too easy, people don’t feel a sense of contribution or accomplishment. The IKEA effect, though, focuses on the value people place on things they’ve had a hand in creating.

For me, when it comes to AI product design, this means personalizat... See more

For me, when it comes to AI product design, this means personalization. We all like things that we help mold—including our copilots and agents and chatbots. More tools should be customized with personal preferences and styles, rather than monolithic feature sets. Maybe an email agent lets me customize it before I let it run loose in my inbox. And s... See more

t’s harder to give up my agent when it learns my email style over time. If Granola, meanwhile, improved over time based on my feedback—how I like to take notes, which takeaways are important to me—the product also becomes harder to give up. And same for a NSFW chatbot—if I build a romantic relationship with shared history, that’s tough to say goodb... See more

The Bandwagon Effect is pretty straightforward: its the psychological phenomenon that people tend to adopt behaviors, beliefs, or attitudes because they perceive others are doing the same. Think: TikTok dances, skinny jeans, or the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (#tbt). In startup world, the bandwagon effect often means (1) viral growth, and (2) network ... See more

Granola. Granola may be my most-used and most-beloved AI tool. If you don’t use it already, you’re welcome—your life is about to change. Granola summarizes your meetings, and is elegant in its simplicity; the interface is clean and straightforward, and there are only a few key things you’re asked to do post-meeting: