> now it's been so overused

Is it actually overused or are you just tired of being reminded that so many things are constantly getting objectively worse?

It's such a common pattern in technology - especially in VC-funded companies - that it's nice to have a single word to be able to discuss it concisely. In a way it's not too different than old-school "dumping" of products at below cost to drive competition out of business only to raise prices once you have control of the market. Though with internet companies the "price" is often the volume of ads you end up getting exposed to.

I understand getting bored of it, but it's only been "overused" because it's the same pattern everywhere since the beginning of this decade.

In the last few years, a lot of companies went down the anti-consumer road: shrinkflation, lower quality/reliable parts, and just like Perplexity, forced ads in paid subscriptions for Netflix/Prime Video/etc. So I think it very much applies in this case.

Happens to every new word that becomes popular on the internet.

We finally have a word for what capitalism eventually leads to. In a few years economics textbooks will be full of it.