What clients are asking us for right now

In nearly every client conversation lately, the themes are eerily consistent.

• “We need to move faster.”

• “We need to prove this works.”

• “We can’t afford to get it wrong.”

It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking to a founder with a napkin sketch or a billion-dollar org with AI aspirations. The ask is the same: “Help us make this real. And make it work.”

No one’s asking for a grand strategy deck. They want traction. Proof. Confidence they can defend in the room. That’s why so much of our focus lately has shifted toward fast experiments, commercial validation, and embedded intelligence. The playbook is changing. And our conversations at StealthX are shifting with it.

Certainty is the new strategy

One startup we’re speaking with is trying to connect international travelers before they relocate. They’re passionate. Purpose-driven. But they don’t just want a prototype. They want a user base. They want growth. Another conversation with a seasoned business owner was about launching a new consulting service. The question wasn’t “Can you build it?” It was “Can you help me fill my pipeline?”

That’s the shift. Increasingly, leaders aren’t asking for features. They’re asking for outcomes.

Putting this into action:

• Before launching a new product or service, identify your first 10 customers. Then build around their needs.

• Test your go-to-market plan by running small-scale outreach campaigns using tools like Clay, Instantly, or even GPT to draft outreach copy.

• Stop thinking of launch as the finish line. Design the launch to create pull, not just presence.

Everyone wants AI. Few are ready for it.

We met with an investment fund that wanted to model portfolio scenarios using AI. But they’re still using Excel and a lot of the ways they analyze the data is in one guy’s head. When we asked how they knew which data rows to analyze, the answer was, “[Name of the guy] knows.” That revealed the gap. The aspiration is AI, but the foundation is tribal knowledge.

Putting this into action:

• Take inventory of where your most important data actually lives. If the answer is spreadsheets, shared drives, or someone’s head.. start there.

• Create a simple map. What decisions do you want AI to support, and what data is required to do it?

• Don’t over-engineer. Build lightweight systems first that help your team centralize and tag critical knowledge. Start crawling before you try to walk or run.

We built a clone of me (sort of)

Over the weekend, I built a voice assistant that talks in my voice and answers questions about building great experiences. It’s trained on the content in this newsletter and my LinkedIn posts. I call it BX (here’s a demo).

Now imagine this for your team. Or your customers. Or your frontline staff. Whether it’s onboarding docs, product training, or internal processes, AI agents can become always-on support systems. And the best part? They’re easy to build now.

Putting this into action:

• Choose a part of your business that generates lots of repeat questions (sales enablement, onboarding, or internal FAQs).

• Feed your materials into a tool like Eleven Labs, HeyGen, or ChatGPT and build a basic agent your team or customers can interact with.

• Treat it as an experiment. Pilot internally before rolling it out publicly. But start now. Because these tools are cheap, fast, and powerful.

Why does every AI tool still look like a blank box?

Most AI tools today start with an empty textbox. That’s not as helpful as it could be. I believe that we’ll see a shift to truly intelligent, context-aware interfaces. I originally shared this on LinkedIn this week.

Imagine you're shopping for a fridge. Instead of filtering through 300 stainless steel boxes and feeling overwhelmed because they all look alike... a gentle message appears:

“Hey Drew, it seems like you're interested in a fridge that fits with the modern farmhouse style. I'm guessing you're thinking about an upgrade. I have some suggestions if you're interested."

You give it a thumbs up and it follows up..

"I've got a few interesting insights to share. I've noticed that other folks remodeling their kitchen in this style seem to choose this model because of the stellar warranty and the fact that it doesn't show fingerprints like other models. Also the filters are pretty affordable (~$12/each) and easy to install. If you're curious, there are 8 in stock at the Lowe's near your house."

This wouldn't be a modal, or a chatbot, or a forced step. It's not even trying to sell you necessarily. It's just a helpful, personal, and contextual suggestion based on some observations. It's blended seamlessly into the interface gathering context. Watching how you interact and making inferences. Reacting to your behavior in the moment and nudging you forward at the right time based on what it's learned about you.

I think this is the future. It’s not about replacing buttons with bots. It’s about infusing intelligence throughout the interface. Micro-interactions that feel like magic. Pages that adapt dynamically. Helpers that know when to help.. and when to shut up.

Call it intelligent interface. Call it hyper personalized and contextual UX. Call it Navi (any Zelda fans out there??). I truly believe that the winners over the next several years will do this. Experiences that don't need onboarding, documentation, search, sort or filters. Your experience will explain itself.

Putting this into action:

• Identify your most trafficked or most confusing customer touchpoint. Could be your website, help center, or checkout flow. Ask, “What questions do people get stuck on here?” Then experiment with ways to serve proactive answers. Maybe it’s a simple overlay or a guided journey (i.e., lead the customer through steps to solve their problem vs selling a product).

• Use AI tools like Eleven Labs or Lovable to prototype something fast, then get feedback.

Wrapping up

Across every client conversation lately, the message is clear. Certainty wins. Leaders aren’t asking for features or strategies. They want real traction. They want systems that work. From scrappy startups to billion-dollar firms, the mandate is the same. Prove it, quickly, and in ways they can defend.

That’s why this moment calls for a new approach. Start with real customer demand. Validate fast. Layer intelligence where it helps. Whether you're mapping tribal knowledge, experimenting with AI assistants, or building smarter interfaces.. what matters is that you're closing the gap between aspiration and execution.

This isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about designing experiences that actually deliver. Confidence, clarity, and outcomes people can trust.

Onward & upward 🤘

Drew

P.s. If we haven’t met yet, hello! I’m Drew Burdick, Founder and Managing Partner at StealthX. We work with brands to design & build great customer experiences that win. I share ideas weekly through this newsletter & over on the Building Great Experiences podcast. Have a question? Feel free to contact us, I’d love to hear from you.