CNBC highlights tech reporter Joanna Stern’s year-long effort to weave artificial intelligence into as much of her routine as possible. The project, tied to her book "I Am Not a Robot," involved trying many different AI applications across both work and everyday tasks to see which ones were genuinely helpful.
The story focuses on a practical question many users now face: how to move beyond one-off experiments and find an AI tool that actually earns a permanent place in daily life. Stern’s experience suggests that while plenty of apps can be interesting in the moment, only a small number prove useful enough to keep using over time.
Rather than treating AI as a novelty, Stern appears to have tested it as an ongoing assistant for common needs such as productivity, organization and communication. That broader approach reflects a growing shift in how people evaluate artificial intelligence—not by hype alone, but by whether it saves time, reduces friction and fits naturally into existing habits.
Her takeaway, as described by CNBC, is that after a year of trying dozens of options, one tool stood out and stayed with her. The article underscores a wider trend in consumer tech: users are becoming more selective, keeping the AI products that deliver consistent value and dropping the rest.
