Every era of technology creates a moment of panic followed by adaptation. AI is no different — but the speed demands we think faster.
What AI is Replacing
If I observe product management role with a bunch of tasks, assuming these tasks are the same in every company and industry. It's mainly 6 tasks mentioned as below
- Writing PRDs
- Stakeholder Management
- Product Roadmap
- Data Analysis
- Decision Making
- Customer Feedback
AI will replace certain tasks and is already doing that, atleast I have started using AI in such ways. Even if AI is able to do 80% of your job, still you will be required for the rest 20% of it.
Largely I see PRD writing, Data Analysis and Customer Feedback will be taken by AI. Rest related to decision making, stakeholder management and decision making still be operated by individual PMs.
AI is generally amazing at some tasks but terrible at others and it's not reliable, example consultancy being in news where consultants used AI , copied AI output and didn't verify results. We should be using AI to accelerate thinking and not replace thinking.
How I work with AI
I will not be giving my tasks to AI which involve personal thinking, judgement, ethical decision making and strategy envisioning. I will delegate tasks to AI but still review which are like summaries, drafts, emails or research.
I will automate repetative workflows , structured tasks and low risk outputs completely with AI,
Organizations will change, companies today are designed like hierarchies, assembly lines but AI will change the workflows. Old system was built for humans , new system will be AI participating in workflows.
As a Product manager, I have started thinking on how AI sits in the workflows, where can decisions be automated or where is human required. AI success for me is not a tool adoption anymore, its the workflow redesign which leads to higher output.
This leads to the original thought and point of view that AI won't replace jobs quickly , it will change the job structure for different roles. Jobs will evolve and not disapear, low performers will benefit the most if they used it effectively, skill gaps will reduce.
What this means for the future
Generally people feel threatened with AI coming into their domain but similar thing happened in past
when calculator was invented, kids didn't stop learning maths, mathematics evolved and teaching style changed
If AI enters your domain, don't fight it but start redesigning workflows. This is universal because AI is good at facts, knowledge but expertise requires practice, feedback and iterations. Knowledge is not equal to expertise. The question isn't whether AI will change your role. It already is. The question is whether you're the one redesigning it — or waiting for someone else to redesign it for you.
