AI, Product Development, and the Line We Should Protect

AI, Product Development, and the Line We Should Protect

AI is impacting everything. That’s the headline. Always.

It’s here to stay. The world is forever changed.

And yes - AI is helping us move faster. Faster product ideas, faster development cycles, faster execution. But let’s be clear on one thing:

It is not us.

What I find interesting right now is that most of the conversation around AI and product development isn’t coming from the people who build products.

It’s not coming from merchants.
It’s not coming from product developers.

The people who live in the tension of brand strategy, customer insight, margin reality, compliance, and that instinct that says this will work - those voices are getting quieter in the noise.

And they shouldn’t be.

I’ve spent decades developing products – I’ve lost count on how many.  Ideas come from everywhere: structured research, unexpected moments, years of pattern recognition. But almost never from a perfectly packaged answer behind a screen.

AI can generate a product in 30 minutes. I know, because I did it.
Prompt in. Product out. Positioning, marketing plan, done.

Was it decent? Yes.
Would a seasoned merchant spot it immediately? Also yes.

There’s a reason people often call it AI slop.

Where AI Helps (And Where It Doesn’t)

Let’s be fair - AI has a role.

Where it works:

• White space exploration

• Early-stage idea generation

• Data synthesis and speed

• Process efficiency

• Faster response to trend shifts

Where it falls short:

• True differentiation

• Brand voice protection

• Merchant instinct

• Long-term portfolio thinking

• Knowing what not to launch

Because product development has always been a balance of art and science. AI may enhance the science - but it cannot replace the art.

And here’s the part that matters most:

If we can create products faster, are we being just as intentional about what leaves?

When I was leading teams, we had a simple rule: for every new product brought in, one had to go. Not as a constraint, but as discipline. Because products have a lifecycle - and too many products dilute everything.

Here’s the line we should protect:  We don’t need more products.

Every retailer has too much inventory. Every merchant is managing product fatigue. Every system is strained trying to keep up. And yet, we’re accelerating the speed of innovation.

That’s not innovation.
That’s noise.

Because the future of product development shouldn’t be handed over to speed alone.

It should be led - with intention.

The Bigger Questions We Should Be Asking

• When is fast… too fast?

• How are we upskilling our merchants - not replacing them?

• How are we protecting brand integrity in an AI-first world?

• How are we ensuring innovation actually matters?

Because here’s the reality: 85% of product launches fail within two years.
That number is going up - not down.

Speed isn’t fixing that.

So what do we do with all of this?

We talk about it - honestly, practically, and without hype.

We challenge assumptions. We share what’s actually working. We create space to think more clearly about where this is all going, and what role we want to play in it.