3
0 Comments

What I Learned After Deleting All AI Features and Reading 50+ Reddit Comments

Yesterday, I posted a short story on Reddit:

“I deleted all AI features… and user growth went up.”

I didn’t expect much. It was just a quick build-in-public note about how simplifying my SaaS, Indie10k, led to better metrics.
But the thread exploded — 32k views, 60+ upvotes, 50+ comments, and some of the best feedback I’ve ever received.

So, here’s what I learned from that chaos.


1. People are not against AI — they’re against being bossed around by it.

When I first built Indie10k, I thought AI would be the ultimate growth coach for founders.
A “smart assistant” that tells you what to do to grow your SaaS.

Turns out, that was exactly the problem.

One Redditor nailed it:

“I don’t want AI to be my boss.”

I was like (phew).
I'm glad I pivoted to something that didn't disempower users.

It’s not that AI is bad — it’s that the framing was wrong.
People want to feel in control of their growth, not managed by a machine.


2. Users crave clarity, not “intelligence.”

One comment stood out:

“It’s simply cognitive load effect — the less you load on a page, the more signups you get.”

That line might as well be my new product philosophy.
When I stripped out the AI features — the chat, the suggestions, the “smart” tasks — the app became one clean page with one button.

Suddenly, new users got it.
No more hesitation. No more “What does this do?” moments.

Sometimes, intelligence confuses. Simplicity converts.


3. AI adds cost and cynicism.

Another comment hit a nerve:

“I’m tired of AI everything. I click a button, wait, then get hit with a new paywall.”

That one made me laugh — then wince.
Because that’s exactly what happened with my earlier prototypes.
AI drove up my costs (OpenAI tokens), which forced me to add paywalls that I didn’t even believe in.

Removing AI not only simplified UX — it made pricing fairer.
No token cost, no surprise charges, just one simple subscription.
And for my target users — indie developers still finding their footing — that fairness matters more than “smarts.”


4. Simplicity builds trust.

I never realized how much clutter erodes credibility until users started telling me,

“I finally get what your app does now.”

It’s almost embarrassing to admit how many hours I spent designing clever AI features when a single sentence and button were all I needed.

And when I added a small personal video to the landing page — something I was nervous about — people connected instantly.
One user said:

“Seeing your real face instead of an influencer or AI instantly built trust.”

I used to think simplicity was boring.
Now I see it’s the purest signal of confidence.


5. The best AI is structure.

If there’s one recurring insight across all comments, it’s this:
AI isn’t the value, structure is.

Users don’t want a model to think for them — they want a system that helps them think better.
Something that makes it easy to show up every day and take one clear step forward.

That’s literally what Indie10k evolved into:
A “growth gym” that gives founders one actionable rep per day — small enough to finish, powerful enough to compound.

Like a fitness app, but for SaaS growth.


6. The meta-lesson: Don’t “AI it” just to look smart.

One of my favorite comments said:

“Most AI add-ons fail because they add noise instead of leverage.”

Couldn’t agree more.
Adding AI shouldn’t be a badge — it should be a mechanic.
Something that amplifies a proven user behavior, not replaces it.

So now, my new rule is simple:
If a feature doesn’t move retention by double digits, strip it.


7. The emotional side: fear and clarity.

When I deleted all the AI code, I was anxious.
It felt like killing the “wow” factor of my app.
But what replaced that was something more powerful — clarity.

I learned that humility beats hype.
You don’t need to impress your users. You need to help them progress.

And ironically, once I did that, user signups and retention both went up.


My takeaway

AI didn’t fail me. I failed to use it responsibly.
It made me forget that the job of a product is to help humans act, not automate their agency.

The real magic isn’t artificial intelligence — it’s human discipline, guided by smart structure.


Your turn

So I’ll pass the question back to you:
What' the AI feature in your SaaS and where is the line between “assist” and “replace” in your SaaS?

posted to Icon for Indie10k
Indie10k