Product Craft in the Age of Co-Pilots
Updated:
2 minutes
Over the past year, AI has moved from being a curiosity to a constant presence in our tools. From assistants that summarize customer interviews to systems that suggest roadmap priorities, product management has entered a new phase — one where AI acts not as a feature but as a partner.
In this new reality, the boundaries of the craft are shifting. The job used to be about translating ambiguity into action. Now, it’s also about translating AI’s outputs into insight.
It’s easy to assume that more intelligence means better outcomes. But as with any tool, what matters is how thoughtfully we use it.
Product managers have always lived at the intersection of context, empathy, and judgment. AI can surface patterns and possibilities faster than ever — but it still can’t tell you which problems matter most. The real value isn’t in the automation; it’s in the discernment. This judgment is especially critical when distinguishing AI features from AI capabilities — choosing what to build that compounds vs. what simply looks impressive.
Some practitioners note that while AI feels powerful in technical or analytical contexts, it still struggles in the messy, ambiguous world of product decisions — where curiosity, judgment, and pattern-breaking matter most. That’s because product management isn’t just about processing information. It’s about connecting signals across people, strategy, and time.
AI accelerates our ability to see, but it doesn’t replace the need to interpret.
A subtle tradeoff emerges
AI has undeniably been a massive productivity gain for product managers — speeding up research, synthesis, and ideation in ways that once took days. But a quiet tradeoff is emerging: it’s easy to let the tools think for us. Too often, AI’s neatly packaged insights or prioritization suggestions go unchallenged. The craft of product management has always lived in why we make certain choices, not just how efficiently we get there.
AI amplifies our reach, but it can also flatten our curiosity if we let it. The best PMs won’t just use AI — they’ll interrogate it, treating its outputs as raw material, not gospel.
The product craft endures
AI will continue to evolve, shaping how we ideate, validate, and deliver products. But the essence of product management — judgment, empathy, and taste — remains deeply human.
In the age of co-pilots, the real craft isn’t in delegating decisions to AI; it’s in knowing which ones not to. This becomes even more important when building product orgs that can actually ship AI — where judgment, not just execution speed, determines whether you’re building features or capabilities.