A study in Appetite tested US diners on menu choices.
Same salad.
Same wrap.
One version carried a vegetarian or vegan label, the other did not. Diners shied away from the labelled option. The tag alone killed appetite.
Now swap food for software.
I am not going to give examples from my industry so think about products like AI powered toothbrushes.
Every booth at the last event slapped AI on the banner.
Email AI. Expense AI. Stapler AI.
The tag is everywhere because boards love buzzwords. Prospects may less so. I see an AI sticker and start asking these questions;
- Is it real or just re-branded autocomplete?
- What data does it siphon while it “learns”?
- Who gets breached first, you or me?
When every release note forces the word AI onto a feature that worked fine without it, trust erodes instead of grows. The salad got colder.
Ask whether the label helps the buyer.
If not, lose it.
Talk outcome. Talk workflow. Show where the model sits, what it touches and why life is better with it. Skip the neon badge. Deliver the benefit.
Lesson from the cafeteria. Labels carry weight. Use them carefully or watch the customer pick something else.
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