The chapter explores the dilemmas faced by companies and product builders when incorporating AI technologies, discussing various strategies such as starting from scratch, integrating AI features into existing products, and creating new experiences incorporating AI. It also delves into the unexpected success of five-second previews in AI features, the evolution of a web browser into a computing environment, and the challenges of building a consumer AI experience that users love.
Josh Miller, Founder and CEO of The Browser Co, joins this week. We loved the experience with Arc Search, a new AI-enabled mobile search experience, we decided to talk to Josh directly about how it all came together.
Topics:
* How Arc Search came to be spawned out of basically a side project
* The core value of "we don't know"
* How the key AI feature 'Browse for Me' was not the initial concept, but came to be added last minute
* Josh's initial skepticism about AI, up until just a few months ago, and what flipped him
* Three strategies for AI integration
* The perils of leading with consumer hooks, how that derailed Browser Co, and focusing on solving problems
* Should cost be a key consideration when developing AI?
Hope you enjoy us mixing it up this week by talking with someone wrestling with building in the space. Drop us a line on twitter at @nabeel and @fraser with what you want to hear more (or less) of.
- (00:00) - Intro
- (01:02) - Welcome Josh, CEO of The Browser Company
- (02:51) - The origin of Arc Search
- (05:12) - Browse For Me
- (06:55) - Overview of Arc Search
- (16:51) - Thinking about competition
- (25:08) - User problems over elegant hooks
- (29:25) - Three strategies for AI integration
- (34:51) - The importance of prototyping
- (40:28) - The future of desktop search
- (46:01) - Thinking about costs when building with AI