AI tools are no longer just for engineers. From writing user stories and analyzing user feedback to generating competitive analyses, AI co-pilots are rapidly embedding themselves into the PM workflow. The promise is incredible: offload the tedious work so we can focus on high-level strategy and vision.
But this shift raises a fundamental question about our craft. We’ve always defined great product management by a deep, almost intuitive, user empathy and the creative spark that connects disparate ideas into a coherent vision. If we begin to rely on AI to synthesize customer interviews, summarize feedback, and even draft our documents, are we outsourcing the very activities that build that intuition?
The risk is that we could become ‘prompt managers,’ skilled at directing an AI but detached from the raw, messy reality of our users’ problems. While AI can undoubtedly make us more efficient, we must be intentional about how we use it. We need to ensure it acts as a springboard for our critical thinking, not a replacement for it.
How are you using AI in your product practice today? Do you see it as a simple productivity booster, or do you worry it might erode the ‘art’ and human-centric skills that define our role?