# AI Product

Partial Autonomy Applications

## The Autonomy Slider

Andrej Karpathy created the <mark style="background-color:purple;">autonomy slider</mark>. It classifies AI products by their level of autonomy.

<figure><img src="https://3362254923-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3RA6F4b1kPuyIJpX1t8w%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-804fefe8a80b4ea7b5ecaf899a0305460d7c6d93%2Fai-product-autonomy-slider.png?alt=media" alt="A slider showing the range of AI product autonomy, from AI-enhanced to AI-first."><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

* **AI-Enhanced Products**: Add LLM features to an existing product. The core workflow stays the same. Examples: Miro, Jira, Slack, Google Docs.
* **AI-First Products**: Design the UX around the LLM or agent. Examples: ChatGPT, Claude, Devin.

<figure><img src="https://3362254923-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3RA6F4b1kPuyIJpX1t8w%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-948355bfd12a318f2e299f217dc846974d6a6d2a%2Fai-product-concept.png?alt=media" alt="Diagram comparing AI-enhanced and AI-first product concepts."><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## AI Value Ratio

Another angle to look at AI products is from the perspective of the **AI Value Ratio**: the ratio of human input to (valuable) AI output. This concept was introduced by [swyx](https://www.swyx.io/about) in the [AI Engineer World's Fair 2025 Keynote](https://www.youtube.com/live/z4zXicOAF28?si=U5N51b3TPC1geFqU\&t=1928). It is similar to the concept we use in product design, least amount of effort to achieve the most value.

* 1:0.5 - Copilot: suggesting code as you type
* 1:1 - Chatbot: returning equivalent value to your prompt
* 1:10 - Reasoning models, workflows: multiply your input through workflows
* 1:10000 - Deep Research, NotebookLM: generate comprehensive insights from simple queries

> 💭: A chatbot demands a paragraph but returns one line. Worse ratio than traditional products. Why would users use it?

## AI as the Engine

AI can act as an engine, adding LLM power to an existing product. Here, AI is a key component, not the whole product.

Simon Wardan's YOW! 2025 talk explores this idea. [View slides](https://australian.software/YOW2025/).

<figure><img src="https://3362254923-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3RA6F4b1kPuyIJpX1t8w%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-58098edd6ba34e1e1dd445f789f2687f754915e2%2Fai-as-the-engine.jpg?alt=media" alt="Visual representation of AI as the engine of a product."><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## AI as an Assistant

This pattern deeply integrates LLM features into a traditional UI. It creates tight interaction between the UI and the LLM.

Examples include code assistants that are tightly integrated into the development environment.

<figure><img src="https://3362254923-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3RA6F4b1kPuyIJpX1t8w%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-9087b0086d43ced53fbc7c9894acc531067e185a%2Fai-product-lex.png?alt=media" alt="Lex.page, an example of AI as an assistant in a word processor."><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="https://3362254923-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3RA6F4b1kPuyIJpX1t8w%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-c3f3a3a2a57be89fb743942b554275c56b642fa4%2Fai-product-cursor.png?alt=media" alt="Cursor, an example of AI as an assistant in an IDE."><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## AI as an Agent

In this model, the UI is built around the agent. See this Manus replay for an example:

{% embed url="<https://manus.im/share/QfmleZqV5JDSk5uPYijvt2?replay=1>" %}