The AI-Powered PM: Must-Have Skills or Just Useless Hype?

AI is everywhere. The hype surrounding large language models (LLMs) since 2023 has propelled artificial intelligence into the mainstream. Naturally, product managers are paying attention.

But is AI product management a true specialization?

Or just another tool in the modern PM’s toolkit?

AI Product Management: Not New, But Different

AI product management isn’t new. For over a decade, product managers have worked with data science teams on machine learning (ML) models to enhance user experiences.

Sure, even traditional AI product management requires a deep understanding of the AI workflow:

• Data preparation: Collecting and cleaning data

• Feature engineering: Selecting and refining inputs

• Model training and validation: Building and testing ML models

• Deployment and monitoring: Ensuring ongoing performance

But generative AI changes the game.

Why Gen AI is Reshaping Product Management

Unlike traditional ML models, LLMs and foundation models are general-purpose. They are:

• Pre-trained on vast datasets and fine-tuned for specific use cases.

• Faster to implement, so it takes weeks instead of months.

• More versatile so that a single model can cover multiple use cases with minimal adjustments.

⚡ This flexibility is driving rapid AI adoption across product management. 

The Rise of AI-Powered Product Managers

If AI is becoming table stakes, does this mean every product manager must be an AI product manager? Not necessarily.

Still, we’re witnessing the emergence of a new role, the AI-powered product manager:

• Traditional AI PMs work on purpose-built ML models (e.g., self-driving cars, fraud detection systems, recommendation engines, medical diagnosis tools, predictive maintenance in manufacturing, and personalized learning platforms).

• AI-powered PMs leverage AI to enhance their products and workflows (e.g., AI-assisted customer support, automated data insights, market research, customer feedback analysis, LLM-generated product requirement documents, and user stories).

Most product managers don’t need to become AI engineers. But they do need to:

• Understand AI capabilities and limitations.

• Identify high-impact AI-driven use cases.

• Integrate AI into existing products to drive differentiation.

The Risk of Being Left Behind

Failing to leverage AI will leave product managers struggling to compete in developing market-leading products. Key areas to consider include:

• Product discovery: Without AI-driven assistance, your user research will be slower and less thorough, making it impossible to keep pace with competitors.

• Decision-making: Relying on manual data analysis will leave you behind, resulting in slower, less informed product choices and ineffective prioritization.

• Productivity: Sticking to outdated workflows without automation means spending excessive time on repetitive tasks—like manually building prototypes and writing product requirement documents, epics, and user stories—instead of focusing on strategy.

The best product managers don’t just manage AI. They use it to supercharge their work.

How to Become an AI-Powered PM (Without a PhD)

You don’t need to master deep learning algorithms. But you do need AI literacy. Start with:

✅ Experimenting with Gen AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney, RunwayML).

✅ Taking classes (eg, Andrew Ng’s classic AI for Everyone course on Coursera), reading books & blogs, and watching YouTube videos to understand AI workflows (data, training, inference, feedback loops).

✅ Learning prompt engineering and API integrations (you can start with the short Deep Learning AI classes).

✅ Identifying AI use cases in your industry (Leverage tools like Gemini DeepResearch to quickly gather insights).

✅ Partnering with engineers and data teams to implement AI features.

You can also read about my journey to become an AI-powered product manager on Product Path AI (link in bio!).

The Future of Product Management is AI-Powered

AI isn’t replacing product managers. But AI-powered product managers will replace those who don’t evolve.  According to a recent LinkedIn AI survey, 83% of product managers believe that gaining AI skills will help them progress in their careers.

Are you ready to be one of them?

Source: LinkedIn News

About the Author

Data-driven B2B SaaS Product Leader with 20+ years of experience transforming complex technical challenges into market-leading solutions. Currently evolving from AI observer to AI-powered PM leader by mastering new AI technologies and leveraging this expertise to found a startup that integrates AI from inception, building a lean and efficient enterprise. Follow my journey at productpath.ai or add me on LinkedIn.

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