Andrew Chen says AI startups are really competing with spreadsheets and copy-paste workflows
andrewchen · x · 2026-07-28
AI startups are not really competing with each other, Andrew Chen argues. Their real competitors are the old spreadsheets, the many browser tabs, undocumented copy-paste workflows, the one employee who “just does it,” and basic organizational inertia—ignorance, fear of change, and laziness.
The point is that many AI products fail not because the model is weak, but because the replacement has to beat a messy, entrenched human workflow. Winning means removing friction from existing habits, not only outperforming other startups on benchmark features.
Related event: AI Startups' Real Competitor Is Legacy Workflows(2 posts)→
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