There’s a lot of chatter—and maybe a little anxiety—about AI’s impact on the product manager role. Will a ‘PM Copilot’ eventually make us obsolete? I don’t think so, but I do believe it’s forcing a necessary evolution of our craft.
For years, many PM roles have been bogged down by tactical execution: grooming backlogs, writing user stories, and chasing down status updates. While essential, this work can crowd out the deep strategic thinking that truly drives product success. Now, AI is getting incredibly good at automating these very tasks. It can draft stories, summarize user research, and analyze quantitative data faster than any human.
So, where does that leave us? It frees us up to do the work that actually requires human insight and connection. Our value is shifting from being masters of the backlog to being masters of strategy, vision, and influence. The skills that matter most now are deep customer empathy, sophisticated stakeholder management, and the ability to define a compelling vision that rallies the entire team. We’re moving from project managers to true product leaders.
How are you seeing AI change the day-to-day responsibilities on your team, and what skills are you focusing on to stay ahead of the curve?