Introduction

AI is changing how fast customer needs grow. Many companies are now losing product-market fit overnight and don’t see it coming.

What's the problem it solves?

This article explains why even strong products are suddenly failing. It shows how AI raises customer expectations so quickly that old products can’t keep up, and how companies can prepare before it’s too late.

Quick Summary

Product-market fit used to be something companies earned and slowly expanded. Now, because of AI, customers expect much more, much faster. If a product doesn’t keep up, people switch to something better almost instantly. This leads to what the author calls “product-market fit collapse”-where a once-popular product loses its users and value in a very short time.

The article gives real examples like Chegg and Stack Overflow, which lost users and revenue because AI tools offered faster and more helpful results. Even companies that saw change coming couldn’t react in time. It explains that products built on user-generated or repeatable content are the most at risk, especially if they don’t control where customers go or the tools they use. The author also offers steps to avoid collapse: watch changing customer habits closely, test new product ideas faster, and build systems that react quickly.

Key Takeaways from the article

• Product-market fit is not permanent-it can collapse quickly
• AI is raising customer expectations faster than before
• Chegg lost most of its value when ChatGPT gave students instant homework help
• Stack Overflow lost traffic when coders turned to GitHub Copilot for instant answers
• Content-based growth loops are fragile if users leave or stop contributing
• Companies that don’t own the main user workflow or customer entry point are more at risk
• AI shifts customer thinking from “tools to create” to “do the work for me”
• Manual tasks and one-size-fits-all products are being replaced by automated and personalized ones
• Businesses must spot rising risks and put more resources into new ideas-not just small features
• Products should track how habits are changing and prepare to pivot fast or lose relevance

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