As the AI market matures, there’s a growing trend of companies integrating AI into their products or services, often with the intention of boosting their appeal to investors and customers. However, the reality is that many of these AI claims are closer to hype than actual value. Many companies promise disruption and transformation, but end up outsourcing the challenging aspects to third-party APIs, or worse, delivering products that fail to deliver on their promises.
This trend has led to a dilution of the term “AI,” with many applications that use a language model now claiming to be an AI product. But there’s a significant difference between companies that merely use AI tools and those that are truly developing proprietary AI technologies. As budgets tighten and investors become more discerning, this distinction could become a defining factor in a company’s survival past 2025.
Companies are increasingly integrating large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini into their offerings, but merely using an API is not the same as building an intelligent system. This misrepresentation carries risks beyond mere embarrassment. Over-reliance on AI can lead to lowered safeguards and decision-making without adequate human oversight. It can also damage trust among employees, investors, and the public.
A notable example is that of