In the last couple of years, product managers have been facing an existential crisis. It started with the tech layoffs and got worse when Airbnb eliminated the traditional PM role. Now, in the face of AI, Claire Vo predicts that product management is dead. Too many PMs have asked me: Did I pick the wrong career? Will there be fewer jobs? Will we even need PMs when products basically build themselves?
I see a different future for product management. Yes, the role will change. But the traits that make a great product manager today will be as important, if not more, in the future: strong customer empathy, strategic thinking, and leadership skills.
What this essay explores
- Understand why customer empathy, strategic thinking, and leadership remain essential as AI changes product work.
- Distinguish product research from development: figuring out what to build versus coordinating what customers want.
- Use customer conversations, data, and experiments to validate hypotheses before building.
Product work is a continuous loop: customer interviews inform analysis, hypotheses, and experiments.
Key takeaway
PMs have been facing an existential crisis. It started with the tech layoffs and got worse when Airbnb eliminated the traditional PM role. In the face of AI, is product management dead?
