I think if the AI opponent plays their X/O directly on their turn, they have to be dumb enough to not make it too hard (even a slightly smart bot will probably

I think if the AI opponent plays their X/O directly on their turn, they have to be dumb enough to not make it too hard (even a slightly smart bot will probably force a tie most of the time, you might not be able to ever miss a tile), and that doesn't feel like it adds much fun. Taking turns guessing could be interesting though. I wonder how the game theory of guessing works out there.