Start with a single, opt-in feature
Pick one user job that's clearly tedious — drafting, summarising, extracting. Ship it behind a button labeled 'Try with AI'. Opt-in means users self-select; you learn fast without breaking anyone's existing workflow.
Don't replace, augment
AI features that replace a workflow create blame when they're wrong. AI features that suggest, with one click to accept or edit, get adopted twice as fast. We use this pattern on every client build.
Cache, cache, cache
Most AI requests within a SaaS repeat. Hash the input, cache the output for 24 hours. Cuts inference cost 60–80% on most workloads. Free quality bump too — same input always returns the same answer.
Measure value, not usage
'AI feature used 10,000 times this month' tells you nothing. Track conversion: how often users accept the suggestion, how much time it saves, whether it correlates with retention. That's what justifies the roadmap.
When to skip AI entirely
If the answer is deterministic, AI is the wrong tool. A 50-line rules engine beats a 50-cent prompt every time on cost, latency and reliability.