Stop Competing on Better: Why AI Demands Category Thinking

When every competitor has access to the same AI tools, competing on better execution is a losing strategy. The companies that win in an AI-enabled market are the ones that stop competing on better and start competing on different. Category design — the discipline of creating and owning a new market category — becomes more important, not less, in an AI world. AI makes execution cheaper and faster for everyone. Category thinking creates a strategic position that AI cannot commoditize. The question is not whether your company should use AI. The question is whether you will use AI to be slightly better at what everyone else does, or fundamentally different in how you create value.