{"id":2423,"date":"2026-07-29T16:32:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/?post_type=wcb_session&#038;p=2423"},"modified":"2026-08-09T09:45:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T16:45:49","slug":"stay-centered-in-the-ai-gold-rush-product-focus-over-feature-hype","status":"publish","type":"wcb_session","link":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/session\/stay-centered-in-the-ai-gold-rush-product-focus-over-feature-hype\/","title":{"rendered":"Stay Centered in the AI Gold Rush: Product Focus Over Feature Hype"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AI has lowered the barrier to building software faster than most product teams can respond. New tools launch daily, customers are experimenting with solutions built in a weekend, and the pressure to &#8220;add AI&#8221; is real \u2014 and often misdirected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For established WordPress products, that pressure is particularly dangerous. Mature products carry technical debt, ecosystem dependencies, backwards compatibility constraints, and customer expectations that make rapid reinvention costly. Chasing AI trends without a clear product lens doesn&#8217;t accelerate growth \u2014 it erodes the foundation that made the product worth building on in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes the hardest product decision isn&#8217;t what to build next. It&#8217;s what not to build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This session draws on real-world product work inside the WordPress ecosystem to explore how teams can modernize intentionally \u2014 without losing focus, stability, or the trust of the customers who depend on them. We&#8217;ll cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why established products struggle disproportionately during major platform shifts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The hidden costs of reactive AI roadmaps<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How to distinguish where AI creates genuine product value versus noise<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why APIs, extensibility, and foundational health matter more than flashy features<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How strong product strategy keeps teams aligned when the industry is moving faster than ever<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This session is about making deliberate decisions when the market is loudest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AI is pressuring every team to &#8216;add AI&#8217; fast. Learn how established WordPress products can modernize with focus, not feature hype.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16155566,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_wcpt_session_time":0,"_wcpt_session_duration":3000,"_wcpt_session_type":"session","_wcpt_session_slides":"","_wcpt_session_video":"","_wcpt_speaker_id":[2400],"footnotes":""},"session_track":[],"session_category":[48],"class_list":["post-2423","wcb_session","type-wcb_session","status-publish","hentry","wcb_session_category-ai-workflow"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"session_date_time":{"date":"","time":""},"session_speakers":[{"id":"2400","slug":"taylor-waldon","name":"Taylor Waldon","link":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/speaker\/taylor-waldon\/"}],"session_cats_rendered":"AI Workflow","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sessions\/2423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sessions"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wcb_session"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sessions\/2423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2832,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sessions\/2423\/revisions\/2832"}],"speakers":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speakers\/2400"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wporg\/v1\/users\/telizarose"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wcb_track","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/session_track?post=2423"},{"taxonomy":"wcb_session_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/session_category?post=2423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}