India, Feb. 23 -- It usually starts in a good place. The product works, the backend is stable, and deployments are smooth. Then comes the idea to add AI. A model is plugged in, a chatbot appears, and the demo feels instantly smarter. The potential is clear, and the excitement is real.

In a recent conversation with Shashank Singla, founder of HCode Technologies and co-founder and CTO of Playtunes, this moment stood out as a familiar turning point. Early results often look great, but they also reveal something deeper. AI does not behave like a feature you simply add on. It begins shaping workflows, costs, and system behavior in ways teams do not always expect.

Production is where that shift becomes visible. Latency needs attention, output...