Let's start with a hard truth: Optimization is killing your customer experience.
Slowly. Subtly. Like too much salt in an otherwise perfect recipe. You might not notice it at first—but eventually, everything starts to taste the same.
In the latest episode of The Frictionless Experience, Nick Paladino and I took a hard look at the dark side of digital optimization. Sure, KPIs, A/B tests, and personalization sound great in theory.
But somewhere along the line, we stopped asking a fundamental question:
Who are we really optimizing for—our customers, or our dashboards?
Let's dive into why over-optimization might be the single biggest threat to customer delight and long-term innovation—and what we can do about it.
We're living in an era where algorithms are king and optimization is the holy grail, but here's the uncomfortable truth.—are we optimizing ourselves into a corner of bland, predictable experiences?
We've all felt it. That frustrating Netflix scroll where you're served exactly what you're supposed to like—and yet nothing feels fresh. It's not just content. It's commerce. It's social media. It's your favorite apps.
Optimization has become so baked in that it's nearly invisible—until the joy disappears.
It's ironic. The more "personalized" things become, the less personal they feel. That's because optimization doesn't aim to surprise or delight—it aims to convert. And that's a dangerous game if we value customer loyalty over momentary gains.
Nick boldly declared: "Optimization, as far as a business concept goes, is not about creating better experiences. It's just not."
When did we stop building for people and start building for metrics?
Nick brought up a perfect example from our chat with Adam Candela at Dunkin'. Picture this: you're walking past your regular Dunkin', and your phone asks if you want your usual order—one tap, and it's ready. Sounds like a dream, right?
As Nick explained: "That wasn't good for business so it wasn't instrumented. That right there is over-optimization killing everything you love."
Why? Because even though it was great for the customer, it didn't tick the right business KPI boxes. That's the tyranny of optimization. When your metrics dictate what gets built—and what gets killed—you're no longer serving your customer. You're serving your spreadsheet.
As Nick noted: "Optimization really goes after the lowest common denominator for experiences."
In digital, "best practice" often becomes lowest-common-denominator practice.
We see it when every e-commerce site starts looking the same. When every mobile app has the same nav. When innovation means "now with AI," whether it adds value or not.
As I commented: "Even sometimes innovation is really just copying, like everybody throwing AI in, even when it doesn't improve the experience."
The result? Generic experiences that nobody hates—but nobody remembers either. And that's a bigger threat to your brand than any bug or bounce rate.
One of the most powerful insights from this episode came when Nick described a healthier mindset for experimentation:
Winners and learners. Not winners and losers.
In a culture obsessed with ROI and conversion rates, we've forgotten that failure is fertile ground for innovation. Too many digital teams are afraid to take big swings, because they don't want to risk being wrong.
As Nick said:
"What risks they're avoiding is being wrong... everyone's out there to prove their hypothesis so that all of the investments that they convinced everybody to buy in on actually pay off."
But the most memorable experiences don't come from proving hypotheses. They come from asking better questions.
Nick commented: "Recommended products absolutely benefit the brand, not the consumer. That is the core of impulse buying right there."
We talk a lot about personalization. But let's be honest—most of it is poorly executed. It's creepy. It's wrong half the time. And it often feels more like manipulation than magic.
Instead of trying to be psychic, what if we just made it easier for customers to get what they want? Clean design. Clear paths. Content that inspires curiosity—not just conversion.
Because the truth is, real personalization doesn't require a 360-degree customer profile. It requires empathy.
Let's face it—most brands aren't trying to be extraordinary. They're trying to be efficient.
And yet, it's the extraordinary experiences that customers talk about. That they remember. That they recommend.
As Nick noted:
"Those are the kind of experiences that optimization kills... because like I said, a very small number of users would be very passionate about this."
Nick gave a great example: what if we built a fully immersive VR shopping experience? Most users wouldn't use it. But for a small group of passionate fans, it would be unforgettable. That's where brand love lives—not in the margin of your cart conversion rate.
"When the juice is extremely decadent and delicious and is worth at least trying once, I don't know, maybe we should do it," said Nick.
It's a fair question. Maybe customers are okay with frictionless, thoughtless, fast transactions. Maybe they don't care that your site is indistinguishable from your competitors. Maybe they're happy as long as the dog food shows up on time.
But is that the bar we want to set?
Nick explained:"The innovation is getting snuffed out... because the least common denominator is the highest population."
There's a difference between meeting expectations and exceeding them. The latter is what drives brand loyalty. And we're not going to get there by blindly following KPIs down the optimization rabbit hole.
Here's the thing. Optimization isn't evil. It's powerful. Necessary. Strategic. But it has limits.
As Nick described it:
So start with this: Ask yourself what value your KPIs actually deliver to your customers.
Because in a world of micro-bets, personalization fatigue, and me-too platforms, the brands that win will be the ones who dare to be different.
Dare to take risks.
Dare to be remembered.
Until next time—keep challenging the norm, and never settle for "good enough."