Why AI Will Follow the Excel Path: Power Doesn’t Equal Adoption

Let’s be honest: Excel is one of the most powerful software tools ever created. It supports complex models, advanced calculations, and automation at enterprise scale.

But how many people truly unlock all of that?

Very few.

Yet Excel is everywhere — in every company, every industry, every role. Why? Because it works for everyone, no matter their level of expertise.

This is exactly where AI is headed. But only if we design it that way. AI Will Mirror Excel: Two Core User Types

As AI continues to evolve, we’re starting to see a similar user split emerge:

• Casual users — who use AI to summarize content, generate responses, or automate basic tasks.
• Advanced users — who build custom agents, automate workflows, integrate APIs, and experiment with models.

In Excel, we don’t expect everyone to know how to use macros or pivot tables. The same logic must apply to AI: not everyone needs to be a prompt engineer or agent orchestrator to gain value.

We must normalize AI as layered tech — useful at every skill level.

What’s Holding AI Back? Complexity

Right now, AI feels intimidating to many people. Multiple models. Prompt formatting. Unclear outputs. Experimental tools. It’s overwhelming.

This is the same barrier we saw in the early days of spreadsheet software or photo editing — powerful, but inaccessible.

The next wave of AI success will come not from more power, but from better integration, design, and guidance.

How Do We Make AI Work for Humans?

To make AI as universally useful as Excel, we need to:

• ✅ Build intuitive layers — simple UX for casual users, depth for experts
• ✅ Integrate AI where people already work — email, documents, CRMs, analytics tools
• ✅ Focus on outcomes, not features — What task are we making easier? What decision are we supporting?
• ✅ Educate users by doing, not explaining — Let them experience value quickly
• ✅ Design invisibility — The best AI should feel like a helpful assistant, not a separate skill to learn

When AI becomes seamless, its adoption will be unstoppable.

Final Thought: Don’t Build for Experts Only

The mistake we risk making as an industry is building AI for the 1% who want full control — and forgetting the 99% who just want to get things done.

Not everyone needs to “use AI.” They just need tools that quietly, effectively use AI on their behalf.

Just like Excel, the best AI won’t need to be fully understood to be valuable. It will just work — and that’s enough.