What the best products are doing differently in 2025

The next wave of product innovation is here

Aug 27, 2025

One of the things I enjoy most about the Product Awards is seeing the patterns that emerge when you zoom out from individual companies. Each quarter, our Advisory Board digs into the nominees to uncover where product innovation is heading. For Q2, three themes stood out.

The first is the rise of hyper-specialized AI. A couple of years ago, AI was still being used as window dressing. Today, the companies breaking through are using it to solve high-value problems in healthcare, fintech, and cybersecurity, where outcomes matter more than hype.

The second is compliance and security as a moat. In regulated industries, the winners are the ones designing for compliance at the architecture level. That turns evolving regulation into a competitive advantage that others can’t easily copy.

The third is ecosystem plays. Some of the strongest products this quarter are the ones that disappear into workflows, embedding themselves so deeply into infrastructure that they’re nearly impossible to replace. Adoption is frictionless, ROI is immediate, and switching costs climb with every additional integration.

These themes tell us a lot about where product leadership is heading: deep domain expertise, compliance-forward design, and infrastructure that scales as an invisible layer.

The full Q2 ebook is here, and it’s already shaping the conversation on 2025’s best products. Don’t be the last to know.

Download the free eBook

Calling All Innovators

Are you curious about synthetic data? We’re launching a program to test synthetic data solutions for enterprise. If you’re interested in being among the first to try, click here to join.

Wondering what AI tools for intelligent voice look like? We’re launching a program to explore products that enable the creation and training of custom AI voice solutions for enterprise. If you’d like to explore what’s next, click here to join.

Know a great product leader?

The best product leaders don’t wait for change, they make it happen. The Product Leader Awards are your chance to shine a light on the people who are actually shaping the future of business.

Nominations are open. Who do you know that deserves to be recognized?

Recognize product excellence

Check out our line-up of incredible speakers for the coming months, and stay ahead of the competition.

ON AUGUST 27, Flowspace CPO on Turning AI Into a Scalable Platform Capability. RSVP here.

ON SEPTEMBER 17, Block Product Lead on Why Small Businesses Need Tools That Disappear. Register today.

ON SEPTEMBER 24, Hosta AI Head of Product & AI platform on Re-Building with AI. Get your ticket.

Cast your vote for Superhuman’s Head of Product & Design and me to present at SXSW 2026 on Thinking Like a Superhuman: Building AI Products People Love.

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