Imagine, for a moment, being served spaghetti bolognese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, every single day. At first, you’re delighted: the aroma, the familiarity, the satisfaction. But after the fourth or fifth day, even the best chef’s magic turns into culinary torture. You begin to eye the plate with suspicion, maybe even with a hint of resentment. That, in a nutshell, is how I—and apparently half the planet—feel about Artificial Intelligence lately.

You can’t open a newspaper or scroll your feed without seeing “AI” sandwiched between news about climate change and celebrity weddings. Tech magazine? AI. Fashion blog? AI-generated runway looks. Pet food brand? “Now with AI-powered nutrition!” (I’m not joking—there are literally “smart” litter boxes with “AI poop-detection.” Welcome to the future.)

What’s even funnier is that AI has become a kind of universal passport for business. You slap those two little letters onto a pitch deck and suddenly you’re being taken more seriously—like the way a BMW badge means luxury before you’ve even looked under the hood. It’s the 2020s version of “Now with WiFi!” except it’s everywhere, and on everything. In 2024, the global number of businesses advertising AI-powered products rose by a whopping 58%. And here’s a kicker: Gartner reports that over 80% of enterprises have AI “on their roadmap,” even if some of those AI solutions are as thin as instant coffee.

But it’s not just devices and software. The phrase “AI-powered” has migrated to truly unexpected places. My favorite? AI-driven toothbrushes that “learn your brushing habits”—as if I needed an algorithm to tell me I’m late for bed. Or those AI-optimized water bottles that track hydration “patterns.” Did we ever ask for this level of sophistication… from our kitchenware?

So, why the growing resentment toward these two innocent letters—A and I? It’s not just that we’re hearing about it too much, it’s the psychological effect of saturation. Our brains are wired to filter out what’s repetitive or overwhelming. It’s called “semantic satiation”—a phenomenon where a word loses its meaning when repeated too often. The more we see “AI,” the less impressive and more irritating it becomes. Combine that with a market so overheated that the average consumer barely knows what AI is, and it’s easy to see why eyes are rolling from Silicon Valley to Singapore.

But businesses aren’t oblivious. Some have started tiptoeing around the “AI” term, inventing clever new ways to market their products. Apple, for instance, recently launched “Apple Intelligence” instead of just “AI”—fresh, but still familiar. Others are going the indirect route: “adaptive learning,” “smart automation,” “predictive analytics.” Some startups deliberately avoid “AI” altogether, focusing instead on the value their products bring, like “effortless scheduling” or “instant translations,” leaving the magic under the hood.

So what can businesses do to avoid fueling the fatigue? First, lead with the benefit, not the buzzword. Tell me how your tool helps me sleep better, saves me time, or lets me spend more time with my family—don’t just say “AI-powered” and expect me to swoon. Secondly, sprinkle in a bit of humanity: highlight the role of people behind the product, share real stories, and use plain language. The most successful companies now focus on experience over technology.

As for us—the spaghetti-eaters, the AI-weary—I think it’s time to be a bit kinder to ourselves and to the technology. The initial hype was overwhelming, yes, but as the dust settles, we’ll find the real gems: the AI solutions that genuinely make our lives easier, and the tools we are using, “smarter.”

Finally, let’s give ourselves—and our beloved cats—a break. Not every device needs an algorithm, not every business card needs “AI” in bold font. Sometimes, the best innovation is the one you barely notice. Because when AI is truly working for us, it fades into the background and just lets us live a little better.

And maybe, just maybe, we’ll get our appetite back.