I used Strava’s latest AI feature for a week-here’s how it went

The majority of new features fall flat. It’s a fact.

• 70% to 95% of new product launches show no measurable impact
• 80% of features are never used — not even once

As a result of ‘feature bloat’ and other issues, engineers end up spending up to 13 hours a week on tech debt, on average.

I myself have launched a lot of features that haven’t worked. As have most PMs. But failing is good as long as you’re learning.

But a lot of the time, feature flops are brushed under the rug. Hush hush and move on.

In the past couple of years, I’ve learned how to avoid features that flop. But it’s still so common across the industry. These days, I find it hard to get excited for new feature launches.

I’m more of a cynic.

So, when Strava launched their new AI feature, I thought:

Great, not another one..

But how wrong I was.

I tried out Strava’s new Athlete Intelligence feature for a week and it turned out to be one of the most surprisingly delightful moments I’ve had in a while.