Thinking

Selected Thinking

Articles and insights on AI-native design, development, and strategy. Patterns tested through building real products — not theory.

Each piece explores a specific challenge we encountered while building AI-native products like Mosaic and Neo — content engineering, agent trust, multi-surface discoverability, and more.

Trust, Autonomy, and Principles

Give agents principles, not scripts. Trust comes from authentic data, not prompt constraints. The evolution from explicit guardrails to principle-based prompting — and why the data layer is where trust actually lives.

AI-NativeAgent DesignPrompt EngineeringTrust

Content Engineering for the Agent Era

How you structure data for AI consumption determines how agents present it. WAAG over RAG — reasoning at write time, not query time. Freeform content over rigid schemas. And it all starts with the human providing quality data, not the engineer or the agent. Content engineering sits alongside prompt engineering and context engineering as a distinct discipline.

AI-NativeContent EngineeringWAAGData Architecture

Designing for Multiple AI Consumers

MCP lets any AI tool access your data — Bring Your Own LLM. The value: your product reaches every model and every client without rebuilding for each. The trade-off: when you give up control of the LLM, data quality and tool design become your only control surfaces. What MCP enables, what changes, and what compensates.

AI-NativeMCPBYOLLMAgent Design

The Dual-Voice Architecture

Intent drives the agent's voice, capabilities, and purpose. One interface, one conversation — the agent reads what you want to do and adapts. Visitors hear the persona speak as itself; owners get a collaborative helper. No mode switch. No dashboard. The agent replaces the CMS entirely.

AI-NativeAgent DesignAuthenticationAgent-as-CMS

AI-Native Interfaces — Conversation Meets Visual

Conversational alone isn't enough. The future of AI interfaces weaves conversation with a visual surface — the agent doesn't just talk, it shows. The product spectrum from traditional to AI-native to agentic. The portal concept: conversation adds dimensionality to web content. How the agent-UI relationship varies — from controlling the surface to providing depth behind it.

AI-NativeAgent DesignInterface DesignProgressive Reveal

Multi-Surface Discoverability — SEO for the Agent Era

Making web content discoverable by AI agents is the next SEO. Four surfaces, three implementation layers, and a practical framework any website can follow today. The most immediately applicable of these articles — the framework is product-agnostic.

AI-NativeDiscoverabilitySEOContent NegotiationAgent-FirstWebMCP