Insights from April Dunford’s Business of Software AMA
In an era where “AI-powered” has become the default label for tech products, positioning your company clearly and effectively is more challenging than ever. April Dunford, executive consultant, speaker, author and widely recognized expert on product positioning, tackled this head-on during her AMA with Business of Software.
Here’s what every founder needs to know to navigate the new terrain of positioning in the age of AI.
1. AI Is Not a Differentiator
April made it clear: saying you use AI doesn’t set you apart anymore. Every tech product claims some AI capability. What matters is how you use AI and what value that delivers to the customer.
“I don’t think that saying you’re taking advantage of AI is differentiating at all,” April said. “What really matters is the ‘so what?'”
Founders must articulate the outcome of using AI—whether it unlocks new capabilities, drives efficiency, or enables something customers couldn’t do before.
2. The AI Budget Paradox
There’s a unique twist in enterprise sales today: some buyers are required to only buy AI solutions due to internal innovation mandates. This means that, ironically, the only way to access the budget is to highlight your AI.
“Occasionally you will get a customer that’s like, if it’s not AI, we can’t buy it,” April explained.
So while AI may not differentiate you, it might still be essential to your sales pitch. The key is to tailor your message based on the buying environment.
3. Regulated Industries = AI Caution
On the flip side, in healthcare, government, or financial services, leaning too hard into your AI messaging can set off alarm bells.
“If you’re over-emphasizing the AI part of it, you run the risk that people are a bit like, ‘We can’t actually do that here,'” said April, citing concerns around compliance, privacy, and data governance.
Positioning in these spaces often means downplaying the AI and focusing instead on risk mitigation, reliability, or compatibility.
4. Proof of Concept Isn’t Proof of Value
Founders often confuse AI pilot projects with traction. April warned that many AI-powered tools are getting stuck in the “proof of concept” stage and never making it to production.
“They’re counting this proof of concept revenue as proof of traction, and it ain’t. That’s kind of biting people in the ass,” she noted.
Good positioning helps prevent this trap. When you clearly communicate long-term value, not just cool tech demos, you’re more likely to move beyond pilots.
5. We Are in the Awkward Phase
April likened today’s AI landscape to the early days of the cloud. At first, being “cloud-first” was unique. Eventually, it became expected.
“We’re in a weird, awkward, teenage phase of AI right now,” she said. “There will just be an assumption that every tech product has AI.”
That means now is the time for founders to get smart about positioning. AI will become table stakes. Your advantage will come from making your value proposition crystal clear.
Key Lessons from April Dunford’s Talk
- AI alone won’t sell your product. Founders must go beyond buzzwords and focus on the unique value their AI unlocks.
- Positioning should be buyer-context aware. Some buyers need to justify purchases with an “AI” label, while others might see AI as a red flag.
- Enterprise traction ≠ production use. Proof-of-concept revenue doesn’t mean the solution is delivering real, long-term value.
- First-call sales stories matter. April stressed the importance of having a clear, compelling pitch ready for the first sales call.
- Positioning is not product strategy. It’s about clearly communicating what exists now—not what you might build later.
AI is reshaping how products are built, but it’s also reshaping how they need to be positioned. April Dunford’s insights remind us that technology doesn’t sell itself. Clarity, relevance, and context do.
Whether you’re an early-stage founder or leading a fast-scaling team, your job is to answer the real question customers are asking: “What’s in it for me?”
And AI alone is never the answer.
Want to explore more from April Dunford’s conversation? Here are a few other standout topics she covered:
- How to apply positioning to services businesses, not just products
- Why founders should stop relying on jobs-to-be-done frameworks as the starting point for positioning
- Sales enablement pitfalls: why your reps reject pitch decks and how to win them over
- The danger of launching with no clear thesis: when “let’s just see what happens” backfires
- Real-world repositioning stories from startups and enterprise giants alike
Stay tuned. We’ll be unpacking more of these lessons in upcoming blog posts.
This article draws on excerpts from April Dunford‘s AMA talk at Business of Software Conference.