AI is widening the gap between modern, outcome-focused product organizations and those still running a 2015 “feature factory” operating model, turning the latter into “legacy magnets” for low-ambition customers and talent.
Why the old model is breaking
- Code is cheaper and learning is more valuable; AI makes prototyping, testing, and synthesis fast, so slow discovery and slide-only strategy are no longer defensible.
- Companies that kept feature-factory habits (wish‑list roadmaps, output over outcomes, agile theater) now look visibly outdated to customers in an AI-enabled market.
The “legacy magnet” effect
- Mature orgs that don’t upgrade become the default for legacy customers: they still sell but via discounts, bundles, and long contracts, not excitement or clear differentiation.
- Their roadmap fills with custom edge cases for old clients while prospects describe them as “solid, stable, not very modern,” signaling a shrinking, low‑ambition segment.
Two paths for AI in mature companies
- Path 1: AI as a bolt‑on to a feature factory—chatbots and “AI assistants” added on top of the same slow, wishlist-driven system, making teams ship the wrong things faster.
- Path 2: Builder teams as the new OS—small, cross‑functional, outcome-owning teams with AI-native workflows that prototype, experiment, and de-risk big bets in small, fast iterations.
What AI really changes
- AI does not fix a messy product org; it exposes it by making it trivial for competitors to prototype big ideas in days and iterate multiple times per month.
- Decision conversations shift from “Can we build it?” to “Why didn’t we test this earlier?” and “Why are we learning so slowly with the budget we already have?”.
It’s a people and operating model problem
- The bottleneck is culture and operating model, not tools: changing how decisions are made, embracing short evidence-based loops, and owning commercial outcomes in product.
- The core risk is not “AI will take your job,” but waking up as the obvious legacy option—best customers and ambitious employees gone—unless you can prove, in how you work, that you are not.