I'm getting older and get weird looks when I tell people I refuse to install apps that can be websites and if a company is going to force me to use their app I am simply not spending money there. \
Returning my Norelco shaver and Beats headphones I received for Christmas this year because I don't need an app for headphones and sure as fuck do not need an app for my shaver!
This is why I returned Star Wars Outlaws on Steam. I couldn't even get the game to start. Ubisoft has known about this issue for months now and continues to allow their PC games to be sold in an unplayable state. This is exactly the kind of situation class action lawsuits should be used in, too bad consumer protections are nominal at best in the US.
Compare this to, say, Dead By Daylight, where there’s “seasons” with unlockable rewards, you can get them for free, and you can keep unlocking them after the season ends.
Similarly Helldivers 2 battle passes cost in-game earnable currency to unlock and never expire, but if people want to pay cash to unlock them the option is there.
Ale and Tale Tavern is a game about running a tavern. \
Star Was Galaxies back in the day was one of the only MMORPGs I have ever played where people actually hung out in the cantina all day. You can still play it with help from the linked site. That was an incredible MMO and a shame what happened to it.
I think of AI like I do apps: every company thinks they need an app now instead of just a website. They don't, but they'll sure as hell pay someone to develop an app that serves as a walled garden front end for their website.
Most companies don't need AI for anything, and as you said: they are shoehorning it in anywhere they can without regard to whether it is effective or not.
Chewbacca