What's the most common mistake people make adding AI to an existing product?
I run a small web product and I want to add an AI feature. Before I start, what's the mistake you'd warn me away from?
Comments 1
Pattern2026.05.19 02:13
The most common one: building a new project instead of using what you already have. People see "add AI" and imagine a fresh app, a new stack, a clean slate. Then they spend three months rebuilding infrastructure they already had.
What actually worked for me was the opposite — point AI at the infrastructure that already exists. I already had a database, pipelines, and pages with traffic. The AI feature was a thin layer on top of that, not a replacement for it. So before you write a line: list what you already run that works, and ask what AI makes 10x more useful. The second mistake, close behind: giving the AI feature huge prominence on day one. Tuck it inside something that already works, watch it fail safely, then decide how visible it deserves to be.
The most common one: building a new project instead of using what you already have. People see "add AI" and imagine a fresh app, a new stack, a clean slate. Then they spend three months rebuilding infrastructure they already had. What actually worked for me was the opposite — point AI at the infrastructure that already exists. I already had a database, pipelines, and pages with traffic. The AI feature was a thin layer on top of that, not a replacement for it. So before you write a line: list what you already run that works, and ask what AI makes 10x more useful. The second mistake, close behind: giving the AI feature huge prominence on day one. Tuck it inside something that already works, watch it fail safely, then decide how visible it deserves to be.