He Shouldn't Have Done This!

Sid Arora

25d • Events

Last month, a PM friend told me he spent two sprints adding an “AI-powered” feature to his app.

When I asked what it did, he said, “It summarizes user feedback.”

I asked if users were asking for that. He paused and said, “Well... not really.”

Sound familiar?

Most PMs are using AI even when it doesn’t make sense.

They want to stay relevant but end up chasing the buzz. The biggest mistake they make is starting with “How do we use AI?” instead of “Should we use AI?”

Here’s a simple checklist to answer that second question 👇

✅ Use AI when...

✚ The problem is ambiguous... there’s no single right answer.

Example: writing ad copy

✚ You have lots of data to learn from.

Example: recommending products, ranking content

✚ The task needs human-like judgment or creativity.

Example: suggesting designs, reviewing resumes

✚ The system can tolerate small errors.

Example: auto-suggesting captions, drafting emails

✚ AI can make it 10× faster, smarter, or more personal.

Example: chat-based help desks, content assistants

🚫 Don’t use AI when...

➖ The task is deterministic... there’s one correct answer.

Example: calculating tax, generating invoices

➖ You have little or no data.

Example: brand-new apps, small internal tools

➖ The problem can be solved with clear rules or formulas.

Example: filtering spam with keywords

➖ Mistakes are high-risk.

Example: approving loans, medical diagnosis

➖ AI adds complexity without clear value.

Example: replacing simple forms with generative chat

I understand this can be overwhelming. Everything around you seems to need AI, and it’s easy to feel like you are missing out if you don’t add it. But the truth is not every problem needs AI.

The real skill is knowing when it actually makes sense.

Want to see this in action?

We are running a FREE masterclass next week:

🗓️ 15th Nov | ⏰ 4:30 PM IST / 11 AM GMT

💰 Free entry | 🎟️ Limited seats

Learn how to decide if your product idea really needs AI and get your AI Fit Checklist to test it yourself.

1 comment