Personalisation is the baseline now

I’m supposed to be writing a proposal this morning — one on personalised, agentic AI. But as often happens on a Grand Prix weekend, I got distracted watching F1.

The F1 viewing experience is a case study in personalisation. Sometimes they nail it. Sometimes they really don’t.

The race itself is a personalisation masterclass. Every driver has a totally unique setup, bespoke-fit to their needs. The entire team effort is geared towards delivering the best possible performance for that driver, in those conditions, at that moment.

The branding feels personalised too. It’s a showcase of high-tech brands pitching SaaS, AI and crypto that might just be a fit for me. (OK, there’s still the odd mega oil company in there too.)

But then the ad break hits — I’m watching on legacy cable TV, after all — and the whole sense of personalisation collapses. Suddenly it’s mass-market banks, mid-priced furniture, washer/dryers, power tools … and inevitably, junk food. No segmentation, no targeting, no sign at all that they give a shit who I am.

I get disproportionately angry at it. The contrast is jarring. And it’s a stark reminder: once you get used to personalisation, the absence of it feels like a slap.

And that’s the risk and reward for those of us designing apps in the AI era. There’s just no excuse for the legacy cable TV, junk food experience anymore. (FOXTEL, I’m looking at you. Your app sucks.)

Anyway, I’ll calm down and get back to work.