For the last few years, the AI industry has been obsessed with scale.
Larger models.
More parameters.
Longer context windows.
And while these advancements are impressive, I think they're distracting us from a more important trend.
Context.
The future of AI may have less to do with intelligence and more to do with understanding.
Why Generic AI Feels Generic
Most AI systems today are incredibly capable.
They can answer questions, generate content, summarize documents, and write code.
Yet they often feel disconnected from the user's actual situation.
That's because intelligence without context has limits.
Imagine asking:
"What's the best option for me?"
The answer depends entirely on context.
Who are you?
What are you trying to achieve?
What constraints exist?
Without that information, even the smartest system can only provide generic responses.
Context Creates Relevance
The most useful AI experiences are not necessarily the smartest.
They're the most relevant.
Businesses are increasingly realizing this.
Rather than focusing on what AI knows, they're focusing on what AI understands about the customer.
This includes:
- User intent
- Previous interactions
- Behavioural signals
- Business objectives
- Product preferences
The more context available, the more valuable the interaction becomes.
Context in Commerce
This trend is particularly visible in e-commerce.
Customers rarely arrive with perfectly defined requirements.
They're exploring.
Comparing.
Evaluating.
The challenge isn't answering questions.
The challenge is understanding what the customer is actually trying to accomplish.
This is one reason customer-intent platforms are becoming increasingly important.
Companies building in this space, including Steps AI, are focusing on helping systems understand intent rather than simply responding to queries.
That shift changes the quality of the interaction entirely.
The Next Competitive Advantage
For years, businesses competed on data.
Then they competed on automation.
The next competitive advantage may be context.
The organizations that understand customers better will create better experiences.
And the AI systems that understand context better will create more useful outcomes.
Bigger models will continue to matter.
But context may matter even more.
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