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Every company racing to build AI products is repeating the same mantra: speed is everything. Move fast, launch quickly, and iterate later.
But speed alone isn’t enough. What really wins is velocity; the equation for velocity in my mind is speed plus direction, intent, and clarity.
After observing the industry, helping build AI products myself for the past few years, I have come to the conclusion that companies that want to win at the AI Race need to excel at two critical practices:
Running a robust beta testing program before launch
Committing to red-teaming and penetration testing as non-negotiable
If you’re a TPM tasked with planning the next AI product launch, these two phases need to sit firmly on your critical path. Treat them either as phases or milestones but do not skip them.
In traditional software launches, manual regression testing and automation were enough. Beta testing was optional. Red-teaming? Too costly or time-consuming or sometimes not considered necessary.
AI changes that.
A single failure isn’t just a bug, it’s a trust breaker. Hallucinations, unsafe responses, exploitable vulnerabilities… all of these can erode confidence in your product and brand.
That’s why beta testing and red-teaming aren’t “nice to haves” anymore. They’re essentials.
Beta testing provides real-world feedback that labs and internal QA can’t replicate. For AI products, it answers three key questions:
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