Product is key to distribution in AI

The era of interfaces for AI has quietly arrived.

While the focus up until now has been on infrastructure and raw performance, it’s becoming clear that the real differentiator lies in the product experience. Yes, powerful models are foundational, but where these models meet users—through interfaces—is where true value is unlocked.

Product is key to distribution in AI.

A whole 18 months after GPT-3 came out, it only had about 300 applications. Great tech. Niche audience. They added a chat interface — and within five days, they added 1 million users. In a month, five million users were now onboard.

This week, OpenAI released a SearchGPT chrome extension (which somehow went under the radar), which would replace Google as your default search engine on your browser. This chrome extension would make OpenAI your live companion, rather than a destination — drastically increasing usage.

In the AI world, product is distribution. Github’s co-pilot also announced that they would now be multi-model, meaning users can switch between claude or open ai or their preferred model, in their platform.

They understand, much like Apple, that the moat is in the customer experience.

And no, this isn’t just about putting a shiny wrapper on an AI model.

Thoughtful products that truly understand their customers, and design product experiences that meet them where they are.

These interfaces also serve a secondary but critical purpose—they provide models with feedback loops, capturing valuable, real-world interactions that make the models smarter and more relevant over time.

I believe we will see many more software companies start going horizontal — like how Notion introduced Notion Mail, Forms, and more last week, and how Figma is going after Slides.

Over the next few years, we will see leaders emerge from the pack, stemming from those who know to put products front and center, rethinking distribution from the user outward.