From “AI assistants” to “AI with a point of view”
Why every "smart" AI feels eerily hollow - and can this be changed?
Most AI platforms feel smart but soulless because they optimize for correctness over character. Consumers don’t always want answers, they want a voice they can believe. They trust lived experiences, not averaged outputs.
Think about it, back in college when you were stuck on a problem, did you scroll through Quora threads or simply text your college senior? Most of us instinctively reach out to someone who's actually been there, not because they have better information, but because they have better judgment. They know which details matter, which shortcuts work, and which mistakes to avoid. This same preference is reshaping how we want to interact with AI.
I've noticed this pattern everywhere, where stakes feel personal. When my friend planned her Singapore trip, she ignored dozens of travel blogs but religiously followed her colleague's one specific tip about where locals actually eat.
People gravitate toward someone's lived playbook over generic best practices. They don't want frameworks; they want someone's actual opinions, and that's exactly what AI is missing.
Someone building in this space can prioritise on the following:
Real personality capture: thought patterns, tone, and culturally aware context, not just knowledge graphs.
Vertical-first GTM: own a niche where credibility compounds, UPSC prep from a rank #42, tennis tips from a former pro, speaking from a coach with receipts.
Social-by-default: companions that sit inside group chats to plan, nudge, and mediate, where advice translates into action.
Creator-first economics: make it trivial for coaches/experts/tastemakers to spin up and monetize “AI versions” of themselves.
Companion apps already serve tens of millions globally, proving the habit; the next wave will convert “generic assistant” time into “trusted advisor” time by giving AI a real point of view rooted in lived experience.
What’s the smallest niche where a borrowed judgment and style would be missed if removed, and which social surface (WhatsApp groups, Discords, classroom forums) will make that trust spread organically?