Our PM toolkit is getting a serious upgrade. AI is no longer a novelty; it’s being woven into everything from analyzing user feedback sentiment to generating first-draft user stories. These tools offer us the power to make decisions based on massive datasets, promising a level of objectivity we’ve never had before.
But this raises a critical question about one of our most valued assets: product intuition. For years, great product management has been defined by a leader’s “gut feel” or “product sense”—that almost instinctual ability to connect disparate user needs, market trends, and technical possibilities into a winning vision.
Now, we face a new crossroads. When the data processed by an AI model points in one direction, but our hard-won experience and intuition scream the opposite, what do we do? Are we becoming managers of algorithms, or are we the strategic filter that provides the essential human context that AI lacks? The risk isn’t just in trusting the AI too much, but also in dismissing powerful insights because they feel counter-intuitive. Finding that balance is the next great challenge for our discipline.
How are you navigating the tension between data-driven AI recommendations and your own product intuition?