I am afraid the 2021 narrative has been applied to AI for a long time now. I am not sure if this is a bubble but it just might be.
Here are some narratives versus the realities: Narrative #1: Building services with AI unlocks the services and labour market
Reality #1: Once you make a service into software, the end user and customers expect software-like experiences. Instant, high quality, easy feedback and a conversation.
This is why we have not seen an AI startup that completely transformed a service led industry.
Narrative #2: If you were to build the likes of incumbents like ServiceNow or Salesforce with AI, it would look and feel completely different and customers would love it.
Reality #2: The incumbents tech mostly rely on a single piece of technology: System of record. Customers use them for this fact only and have been accustomed to using them for a long time. As a startup, it is correct that you can build a completely different experience by reimagining every flow with AI. However to be able to do this, you still need to build the system of record functionality.
That is why it is like first building Salesforce and sprinkling AI into each and every flow. As long as the AI effect is not striking, customers do not care.
There are more but I will touch upon those later