Grammarly rebrands to 'Superhuman,' launches a new AI assistant

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Acquisition, timing, and strategic context

  • Thread notes Grammarly acquired Superhuman (email client) a few months ago; only now is the broader rebrand and AI suite being pushed.
  • Some wonder about acquisition economics given Superhuman’s high past valuation and VC liquidation preferences, but no concrete numbers are known.

Rebrand to “Superhuman” – fit, confusion, and cultural baggage

  • Many think Grammarly had far stronger brand recognition and question abandoning it for a generic, hard-to-search term already used by an existing product.
  • Some speculate keeping the Superhuman name may have been part of the deal.
  • Several find “Superhuman” off‑putting or “cringe,” especially in Europe, where it evokes “Übermensch”/eugenics or hierarchical “better humans” ideas.
  • Others argue in US English it mostly connotes superheroes or “superhuman strength” and is not widely associated with eugenics, though a minority disagrees.

AI, LLMs, and product direction

  • Many see the move as inevitable: writing and productivity tools are a natural fit for LLMs, and Grammarly “cannot afford to ignore” them as Gmail/Docs/Office add similar features.
  • Others lament feature bloat: they want precise grammar checking, not text generation or “slop” that homogenizes writing and erases individual voice.
  • Some characterize Grammarly as “just a feature” that platforms can subsume, questioning its long‑term moat and seeing the pivot as defensive or desperate.
  • There’s cynical humor about a world where LLM-written emails, resumes, and PR are read and summarized by other LLMs.

User experience, pricing, and product sprawl

  • Long‑time users praise Grammarly’s inline corrections UX but dislike the shift toward an all‑purpose AI assistant and confusing product lineup (multiple similarly described SKUs, odd email-based pricing tiers).
  • Some wish for a minimalist native editor with the old click‑to‑fix interface.

Privacy, security, and alternatives

  • Several call Grammarly a de facto keylogger and are surprised enterprises tolerate it; others note similar exposure already exists with Microsoft products.
  • Multiple commenters recommend alternatives (LanguageTool, Harper, custom extensions) and tools that don’t monetize user text or feed it into LLMs.

AI branding fatigue and backlash

  • Commenters ridicule grandiose AI names and see this as part of a saturated “godlike AI” branding trend with little differentiation.
  • Some predict eventual demand for tools that intentionally “degrade” LLM‑polished text to look human again.