Jim Courtwood
Author of the Time & Attendance Consultant's Guide Series

The AI Waiting Game: How Anticipation Is Slowing Product Development
In technology circles, there’s an unusual paradox unfolding. We are living through one of the fastest technological shifts in history, yet many companies, from startups to enterprise giants, are hesitating to move forward with new products. The reason? AI is moving so fast that some fear anything they build today will be obsolete tomorrow. 

The AI Acceleration Effect 
AI’s capabilities are advancing at a pace that makes traditional product development cycles feel glacial. Tasks that once required months of coding, design, and testing can now be partially or fully automated in days. 
Complex processes such as data analysis, image generation, content creation, and even software development are already being completed by AI in a fraction of the time and cost of human teams. In theory, this is exciting. In practice, it’s making some businesses pump the brakes. 

Why Build If AI Will Do It Better Next Month? 
Many product managers and founders are asking the same question: “Why invest six figures into building a custom reporting engine, onboarding process, or analytics dashboard if AI will be able to build one instantly — and probably better — within a year?” The fear isn’t unfounded: 

Rapid Iteration – AI tools release new features weekly, sometimes rendering niche products redundant overnight. Lower Barriers – The cost and expertise needed to build advanced tools is dropping fast. 
Competitive Uncertainty – A product launched today could be replicated — or surpassed — by AI-enhanced competitors almost immediately. 

The Cost of Standing Still
While the hesitation is understandable, there’s a hidden danger in waiting too long: innovation paralysis. Businesses that delay too much risk missing market windows, losing customer mindshare, and falling behind competitors who do move quickly, even in the face of AI uncertainty. 

In many cases, the winning approach is to build products with AI rather than waiting for AI to build them for you. This means integrating AI into current workflows, planning for modular updates, and accepting that iteration will be continuous, not project-based. 

The New Development Mindset
 In an AI-driven market, the product strategy shifts: 

  • Shorter Roadmaps – Build in smaller increments to allow rapid pivots. 
  • AI First Design – Assume AI will be part of the solution from day one. 
  • Evergreen Architecture – Structure products so features can be replaced or upgraded without rebuilding the entire system. 

This mindset accepts that obsolescence is inevitable — but so is opportunity. 
AI isn’t a reason to stop building; it’s a reason to build differently. 

Final Thought
Waiting for AI to “finish evolving” before launching your next product is like waiting for the internet to stop changing before building a website. It will never happen. Yes, AI will soon be able to do in minutes what takes humans months today ,but the companies that learn to ride that wave, not sit on the beach watching it roll in, will be the ones still standing when the next wave arrives.


Jim Courtwood

Time & Attendance Consultant

jimc@timeandattendance.com.au

1300 553 254

0437 772 977