I often hear from clients:

“Can you help us build [cool AI feature]?” “How should we approach it?”

This is my favorite kind of problem to dig into. BUT. Before we build… I ask:

Are you sure anyone will use it? How have you evaluated that?

No one wants to ship an AI feature that collects dust.

That’s why I always steer folks toward customer discovery first. Lately I’ve been recommending The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick. An unfortunately misleading book title, but powerful concept.

The idea: Don’t let vague compliments and mom vibes (“I love your idea, of course I would use it, honey!”) fool you. Ask better questions. Learn what people actually do, not what they say.

Here are 5 of my go-to takeaways for better customer discovery:

  1. Talk about their world, not your idea.
  2. Ask about specific past behavior, not hypotheticals.
  3. Listen for their real problems, not praise.
  4. Keep it casual. This isn’t a pitch.
  5. If it’s not painful for them now, it won’t be solved by your product later.

Do this well, and you’ll know what to build—and why it matters. Then the AI magic can begin.