Adding AI now feels like an expectation rather than an advantage. Founders who shipped it learned adoption fades without a clear workflow fit. Some saw backlash when AI replaced tools users liked. Costs grew with every interaction. Teams that sprinkled AI onto existing features hit ceilings and had to rebuild. The winners started with one repetitive task done well, proved value, then scaled. If they could go back, most would still add AI, but only where it solved a real problem.