Why your AI features aren't getting used

Kristen Berman has a rule: if people won't use an AI feature in the first three seconds, it's dead. Progressive disclosure does the heavy lifting here — show the button only when it's relevant, not as a floating orb on every screen. The trick is making the trigger obvious enough that the user gets it without a tutorial.

The real problem is that most teams bolt AI onto the top of the nav bar like a badge of honor. Nobody's looking for it. What works is a one-tap prompt in the flow where the work is already happening. The button lives where the user's hand is.

Berman points out that the best AI features feel like something the app already did — they just got smarter. If you have to explain how it works, you've lost. The interface should do the explaining.

Why this matters for us: our cousins building side businesses need tools that work without reading documentation — the same way their abuela figured out WhatsApp without a manual.