AI Won’t Save a Bad Product – Focus on Real Personalization

When I launched my startup in 2017, we believed that “viral marketing” and “growth hacking” would skyrocket our growth.

Startups spent a lot of time crafting campaigns that looked great but didn’t connect with our users’ real needs. The result? High interest, but low retention—because our products didn’t deliver enough value to keep users coming back.

Fast forward to today, and I see the same mistake happening with AI-powered personalization efforts. For example, a SaaS platform might implement AI to recommend features based on generic user profiles rather than actual behavior. This often results in irrelevant suggestions that frustrate users instead of engaging them.

In fact, poorly executed personalization can reduce user trust by 35%.

💡 Instead of relying on AI hype, focus on:

– Behavior-driven insights: Use AI to analyze what users actually do, not what you think they want.

– Thoughtful experimentation: Test recommendations rigorously to ensure they add value.

– Core product improvements: Personalization can amplify success, but only if your product truly solves a problem first.

The truth? No amount of AI can save a product that doesn’t deliver real value. Nail your offering first—personalization should enhance, not mask, what’s broken.