Wizard of Oz demo (happy-path demo, demo theater)

Names for demos that look more finished than the product: a person secretly doing the work, a scripted happy path, or a polished show of a single case.

Wizard of Oz comes from user research, where a hidden person plays the system to test an idea before building it; it is honest in research and misleading in a sales demo. A happy-path demo runs only the case that works, and demo theater is the whole staged show. With AI they are easy to make: a prompt tuned for three examples, cached answers, a model that will not be in the contract.

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Related terms

Proof of concept vs pilot (PoC, POV): A proof of concept shows something can work on sample data; a pilot runs it for real users on real data; a proof of value measures whether it pays.
Pilot success criteria (exit criteria): Measurable conditions agreed before a pilot starts that decide whether it passed and the buyer moves to a full contract.
Production-ready AI (production readiness): An AI feature that is tested, monitored, capped in cost, limited in permissions and can be rolled back, not one that only worked in the demo.
MVP (minimum viable product): The smallest version of a product that tests whether people want it enough to use or pay.

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