AI and Figuring Out What Customers Actually Want

Smart businesses ask 'What do people really want?' instead of guessing — AI can brainstorm with you.

Some examples

• Ask AI: 'What do parents want from a kid's birthday cake shop?'
• Ask AI: 'What do dog owners want from a dog park?'
• Ask classmates what THEY want from your imaginary store.

Try it!

Ask 3 friends or family what they wish a store sold but doesn't. Then check ideas with AI.

The difference between what customers say and what they do

There's a famous trick in business: ask people what they want and they'll tell you one thing, but watch what they actually buy and it's often different. Someone might say 'I'd buy a healthy cookie' but then reach for the chocolate chip one every time. Smart businesses pay attention to both — what people say AND what they actually do. AI helps you brainstorm customer needs by thinking through different types of people who might use your product. But there's no substitute for talking to real people. When you ask 3 friends what they wish a store sold that doesn't exist yet, you're doing something real businesses call 'customer discovery.' The answers you get are gold — they tell you where there's an unmet need that maybe you could fill. Businesses that listen carefully to customers tend to build things people actually want to buy.

• Ask open-ended questions: 'What do you wish this store had?' (not 'Would you buy X?')
• Watch behavior: what do people actually choose when given options?
• Ask multiple people: one person's opinion is a guess; five people's opinions is a pattern
• AI brainstorms customer types but real interviews tell you the truth
• Listening is the #1 superpower of entrepreneurs