Why AI Can't Touch Your Taste

Taste is becoming the ultimate differentiator as AI democratizes technical execution across product development.

Aug 12, 2025

Why AI Can't Touch Your Taste (And Why That's Your Superpower)

Taste is becoming the ultimate differentiator as AI democratizes technical execution across product development.

While artificial intelligence can now generate designs, write code, and create marketing copy, it fundamentally cannot replicate the human judgment that separates good from great.

We're witnessing a fascinating paradox in the product world. AI has made it easier than ever to build, iterate, and ship features—yet the products that truly resonate with users aren't necessarily the most technically sophisticated ones. They're the ones crafted by teams with exceptional taste.

The Great AI Leveling

Think about what's happening right now in product teams everywhere. AI can generate wireframes, write user stories, and even produce functional code.

Your intern can now create presentations that rival what senior consultants used to charge premium rates for. Technical execution is no longer a moat.

But here's where it gets interesting: as AI raises the baseline quality of output, it's simultaneously making taste more valuable than ever. When everyone has access to the same powerful tools, the differentiator isn't what you can build—it's knowing what you should create.

Consider Spotify's AI DJ feature. Instead of shouting "powered by AI!" from every interface, they focused on the experience: personalized music curation that feels like having a friend recommend tracks. The AI disappears into the background, and what remains is pure taste in execution.

What Taste Means in Product

Taste in product development isn't about personal preferences—it's the ability to consistently make decisions that demonstrate respect for your users and deliver experiences that drive positive outcomes.

This means:

Focusing on outcomes over features: Great product managers don't lead with "AI-powered analytics dashboard." They emphasize the result: "The insights that help you ship faster."
Making users the hero: Your product should make customers look good, not threaten to replace them. Google's "Dear Sydney" Olympics ad was technically impressive but missed the mark by inserting AI into a father-daughter relationship where it didn't belong.
Knowing when to be invisible: The best product experiences often hide their complexity. Users don't need to know about your machine learning models—they need to feel the value.

The AI Backlash Is Coming

Recent research indicates that labeling products as "AI-powered" does not increase trust, perceived performance, or willingness to pay—in some cases, it lowers performance expectations.

We're rapidly approaching the backlash phase of AI adoption, and when it hits,
brands focused on taste rather than tech buzzwords will survive unscathed.

This isn't just speculation. We're already seeing signs of AI fatigue: "AI-generated" has become more disclaimer than boast, consumers are increasingly skeptical of AI-centric marketing claims, and there's growing demand for "proof of reality"—evidence that brands are putting in genuine human effort.

Your Taste Advantage

While AI can execute with remarkable speed and accuracy, it cannot evaluate whether that execution is good. That judgment—the ability to recognize when something feels right, when it resonates with users, when it solves a real problem elegantly—remains uniquely human.

Great product people develop this through experience, through countless iterations of building, shipping, and learning from user feedback. They understand why certain interface patterns create delight while others create frustration. They know when minimalism signals premium quality versus when it screams "we ran out of ideas".

This is why the most successful product teams will be those that leverage AI as a powerful tool while maintaining human oversight and decision-making at every critical juncture.

The takeaway? Don't compete on technical capabilities that AI can replicate.

Compete on taste—the uniquely human ability to craft products that don't just work, but feel right. In a world where everyone has access to the same AI tools, your taste becomes your moat.

Keep building with intention,

Samet Özkale, AI for Product Power

CEO at Mues AI

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AI for Product Power