Building Products with AI in 2026
2026-02-05 · Jazz Lien
After building several AI products — including 拾光 Glimmer and various internal tools — here's what I've learned about shipping AI features.
Start with the User Problem
It's easy to get excited about AI capabilities and build technology looking for a problem. Don't.
Start with:
- What's the user's pain point?
- How are they solving it today?
- How can AI make this 10x better?
Manage Expectations
AI isn't magic. Set clear expectations:
- What the AI can and can't do
- When it might fail
- How users can provide feedback
Build for Failure
AI outputs are probabilistic. Your product needs to handle:
- Unexpected outputs
- Slow responses
- Service outages
Always have a graceful degradation path.
The Build Loop
1. Ship something simple
2. Watch how users interact
3. Improve based on real usage
4. Repeat
Don't try to build the perfect AI feature. Ship, learn, iterate.
Cost Awareness
AI API calls add up fast. Track costs from day one:
- Cost per user
- Cost per feature
- Cost per successful outcome
Build in caching and optimization early.
What's Next
The tools are getting better every month. The constraint isn't technology — it's imagination and execution.