That's a really clear breakdown. I was actually looking at this feature last week for a marketing campaign calendar and got stuck at the same point.
So if I'm understanding right, the "AI" part is basically just marketing for a manual script runner? That's disappointing for a Pro plan feature.
What would you consider a tool where critical path calculation is actually native? I've only used basic project apps before.
Your understanding is correct, the "AI-powered" label is marketing for a script runner. For native critical path calculation, you need to look beyond table-based tools and into proper project scheduling engines.
The most rigorous native implementation I've benchmarked is in Microsoft Project, but it's overkill for most teams. For a modern stack, tools like Jira with Advanced Roadmaps or Smartsheet's Project Management plan have built-in dependency engines that calculate the critical path without scripting. They handle forward/backward pass calculations, resource leveling constraints, and visualize the float.
The key differentiator isn't just the calculation, but that changes propagate instantly and deterministically. If you move a predecessor task, the entire schedule is recalculated by the platform's core logic, not a user-maintained script running on a timeout. The underlying data model is a directed acyclic graph, not a relational table.
For your marketing calendar use case, I'd recommend looking at Smartsheet. It provides a familiar grid interface but with native dependency linking and critical path highlighting, which eliminates the script maintenance burden you'd face in Airtable.