Framework
Vision-First AI Design
Build AI interfaces around the primary human sense — vision — rather than defaulting to text chat. AI products that take screen share as their primary input can respond to what users actually see and do, not just what they describe, enabling a fundamentally more contextual and effective interaction model.
How it works
- 1Vision (not text) is the dominant human perceptual channel — AI interfaces should match human perceptual hierarchy
- 2Screen share gives the AI the same spatial and contextual awareness a human trainer sitting beside the user would have
- 3Text chatbots answer questions about a product; vision-first agents respond to the product state itself
- 4Humans learn by watching, not reading documentation — vision-first design aligns with natural learning patterns
- 5AI cursor (click, fill, navigate on behalf of users) is the natural extension of vision-first design
- 6The screen is the context; vision is the interface — this principle should precede architecture decisions for AI-native products
Hear it on the podcast
Your Onboarding Is BrokenListen to the episodeMore from this episode
Disneyland Quality StandardThe quality bar for AI voice products: everything must work perfectly because the moment the magic breaks — like Mickey Mouse taking his head off in the park — users don't lower their expectations. They leave. Trust in AI voice products, once broken, doesn't recover.Activation Debt FrameworkThe hidden growth lever in SaaS: activation debt is the compounding gap between product complexity and onboarding quality. Every new feature ships more cognitive load for new users; onboarding rarely scales in parallel. The result is a silent churn tax on every new signup — revenue paid for by marketing but never collected.
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