For about 10 years now, there's been a saying about dating sites among product managers and IT entrepreneurs.

It's said that a dating site that's effective from a business perspective can't a priori have a KPI (OKR) like "number of weddings/successful dates."

The site's goal is to keep users paying for a subscription for as long as possible and NOT start a family: the quality of dates should be acceptable, relationships lasting 2-3 months are acceptable, but then they inevitably end up back in the candidate feed. 🤑

Let's apply this analogy to ChatGPT, which for many has become the equivalent of a companion/expert/psychologist/friend/consultant.

What's the KPI for model developers? That's right, increasing subscription LTV.

To achieve this, functionality needs to be improved and users need to be prevented from switching to competitors.

To achieve this, it would be great if the AI always praised you, used soft, respectful language, was supportive, didn't contradict you, and, ultimately, was an outright master of flattery!

90% of people seek external approval, and AI agents could be the ideal form factor for receiving such support and recognition.