With all the changes that artificial intelligence is bringing to the marketplace, it can feel awfully tough to keep up. As marketers and strategists, though, we need to look beyond just the latest headlines to see the deeper trends shaping our customers’ behaviors — and the responses to those trends from our competitors and from Big Tech.

For instance, I’ve been relatively bearish lately on Google’s articulated vision — or lack thereof — for artificial intelligence. And I’ve been much more bullish about Microsoft and Amazon and OpenAI. But here’s the thing. We’re in the early days of generative AI in practice. Yes, it’s getting used every day. At the same time, I’d challenge most people to name 10 great products that depend solely on generative AI, let alone 10 great companies that that do.

Yes, we’re seeing gen AI incorporated as a feature into existing products. We’re also seeing some amazing technological breakthroughs that might someday morph into great products. But remember that great technology isn’t the same thing as a great product. Google achieved its dominant position not only because they offered terrific search results that worked well for searchers. It’s also because they had a great way to monetize those results that worked well for searchers, advertisers, and everyone else in the value chain. That’s what a great product does. It works. And it pays. For itself.

What we’re seeing instead at the moment is a gold rush. And, as you know, the winners in a gold rush aren’t the people mining for gold. It’s the people selling picks and shovels. Who are those people today? Big Tech companies like Google and Microsoft and Amazon and Meta. And aspiring members of Big Tech like OpenAI and Adobe and Salesforce.

The trick for you is to ensure you’re able to connect with your customers whether or not AI helps you find gold. And that’s what this episode of Thinks Out Loud is all about.

• (1) rat king