Dirk Langeveld, who edited my book, sent me an article.
Engadget's reporter, live-blogging Google's keynote, wrote:
"And this is where I wonder if Google has lost the plot a bit. Who is asking for agentic coding in search?"
Every few years a new word does the same work.
Mobile-first.
Social.
Cloud.
Blockchain.
AI.
Agentic.
Each one arrives with the same promise. Get on board or get left behind. And each one pulls product teams away from the question that matters most.
What problem does your user have?
The reporter wasn't being cynical. They were asking the question every builder has to ask of anything new.
Who is this for?
If you can't answer with a real person and a real problem, you are probably prioritizing the wrong thing.
The tools change. The buzzwords cycle. The fundamentals stay.
If you want more stories on how I think through problems like this, check out my new book: The Problem-First Method.