Clouded Judgement: The Education Advantage in AI

The article argues that education—not just product features—is the primary competitive advantage for enterprise AI companies, as customers face a blank canvas problem and must learn through experience which architectural and vendor approaches work best. AI adoption appears paradoxically slow and fast because education cannot be rushed early in adoption cycles, but once customers internalize the right mental models, buying decisions and revenue ramps accelerate dramatically. The best AI companies design products as opinionated guides that teach users both how to use the product and how to think about the problem itself.