The Magic Minimum for AI Agents
<table><tr><td><img alt="Chain of Thought" src="https://d24ovhgu8s7341.cloudfront.net/uploads/publication/logo/59/small_chain_of_thought_logo.png" /></td><td></td><td><table><tr><td>by <a href="https://every.to/@danshipper" itemprop="name">Dan Shipper</a></td></tr><tr><td>in <a href="https://every.to/chain-of-thought">Chain of Thought</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><figure><img src="https://d24ovhgu8s7341.cloudfront.net/uploads/post/cover/3703/magic_brush.png"><figcaption>Midjourney/Every illustration.</figcaption></figure><p><em>Was this newsletter forwarded to you? <u><a href="https://every.to/account" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sign up</a></u> to get it in your inbox.</em></p><p></p><hr class="quill-line"><p></p><p>A good rule of thumb for a good software business
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A good rule of thumb for a good software business is the toothbrush test: Is your product good enough for people to use at least twice a day?
But AI agents are creating a new test, what I’m calling the magic minimum: Can your product periodically deliver enough unexpected value to be irreplaceable, even if users only engage with it once or twice a month?
In the allocation economy, the universe of viable software businesses expands: an entire ecosystem of specialized agents quietly working in the background, earning their keep through occasional moments of delight.
The origins of the toothbrush test
Larry Page created the toothbrush test early on at Google to filter new product bets like Gmail, and acquisitions like YouTube and Android.
It’s useful because it filters for high-upside products. The biggest software businesses are daily habits. They become indispensable tools people reflexively turn to multiple times a day.
This constraint—that great software businesses need to be a daily habit—is driven by human psychology: You only remember things you use a lot.
The toothbrush test constrains the universe of software businesses
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