Hi Reader,

Every week I talk to a new AI builder. They show me something they built in a weekend. It's actually impressive. Then I ask: "who's using it?"

And it gets quiet.

What I'm Noticing

It's the same conversation, four or five times a month now.

A PM built an internal tool that summarizes customer calls. A founder shipped an agent that drafts proposals. A consultant put together a prompt library her clients could use. The builds are good. The demos are smooth. The energy is real.

Then I ask about usage. Most of the time, the answer is some version of: "I haven't pushed it yet" or "a few people have tried it" or "I'm going to share it more once the onboarding is cleaner."

For decades, the bottleneck was building. AI removed it. The new bottleneck is getting humans to actually use what you built.

Most AI builders are still optimizing the part that's already easy.

Your Next Move

Before you build the next thing, do this:

1. Name 5 specific people who would use it. First and last names. If you can't, you don't have a product yet. You have an interesting hobby.
2. Show them what you have in mind. Sketch, mock, walkthrough, anything. Watch their face, not their words. The "oh interesting" face is a no. You're looking for "wait, can I try this now?"
3. Ask: what would have to change in your workflow for you to use this every Tuesday morning? If their answer is vague or future-tense, the adoption gap is real. If they start describing the workflow change unprompted, you have something.

Most builders skip step 2. Step 3 is where you'll spend your time now.

Do this next week: Pick one thing you've built or are about to build. Run all three steps before you write another line of code or another prompt.

Life Beyond the Screen

I see this dynamic in my own house too.

I pack my kids' lunchboxes the night before, thoughtful about what they like. Some days the box comes home empty. Some days half the carrots are still in there.

The difference isn't the food. It's whether they were in the mood for carrots, whether their friend was sharing chips, whether they wanted to impress the kid sitting next to them. None of which I controlled by packing the lunchbox.

Building something for someone is the easy part. Whether they use it is its own conversation, one you can't have until you stop talking and start watching.

A question for this week: What did you build this month that nobody's using? Why do you think that is?

Work with me directly. If you want a thinking partner on your product strategy, AI rollout, or building your fractional practice, here's how I work with people: https://gamma.app/docs/Chill-Labs-Coaching-Information-ifjuyb0hjgw9xtb

Let's Chillaborate,

Dina

Founder, Chill Labs

PS: This pattern shows up in the podcast too. Elena Luneva (S1E4) said it cleanest: "Building is easy now. Go-to-market is the hard part." If you missed her episode, it's here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3G0uLqEYIz8b1q8J8XXgEc 💙