AI's Product Pivot: From Assistants to Undercurrents
The product world is grappling with AI's expanding role, moving beyond flashy demos to seamlessly integrated experiences. Duolingo is going "AI-first," betting big on the tech's transformative power. Yet, questions loom about AI's impact on essential human skills and ethical considerations. We are at an inflection point, where strategic use of AI could lead to market dominance or over-reliance could lead to poor designs and unaddressed user needs.
Product teams are experimenting with AI-generated personas for UX research. But experts warn that AI lacks emotional depth and real-world intuition, potentially leading to flawed insights. Companies such as Attio are embedding AI directly into core functionalities rather than tacking it on as an assistant, improving workflows and user experience. Lenny's Newsletter explores how a former NYT columnist is using AI to enhance their writing process, while also noting how AI tools could atrophy important skills. Monday.com highlights that impact is more important than just shipping features. Product managers are also encouraged to think critically about the problem AI should solve for users and democratize experimentation by empowering teams across an organization to experiment with the technology.
Why it matters: AI is no longer a future trend; it's reshaping product development now. Product leaders must strategically integrate AI while safeguarding human insight and ethical considerations. It's about finding the right balance between AI's capabilities and the irreplaceable value of human ingenuity.
Articles
Articles included in this digest.
Everything’s a vibe, the true cost of luxury, new privacy laws, strategic type
Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers. “What started as casual slang is now everywhere — from how we code and market to how we pitch, design, and even write job descriptions. We’re witnessing a vibe-driven culture that replaces...
Source: UX Collective - Medium | 07:16 AM
Synthetic users: is there a place for “AI-generated users” in UX Research?
Trusting AI over real users? Here’s why it might cost you more than you think. It is now common to see synthetic users being widely used in UX research. After all, with the rise of AI, synthetic data generation is becoming the new norm for gaining in...
Source: UX Collective - Medium | 05:25 AM
BQ1 - Velocity Measurements
If this is your first time reading a “Bigger Questions“ post, I recommend first checking out the background and rationale for these posts, as their not your usual Substack post: Now, let’s get into it Read more
Source: Product Coalition | 08:47 PM
Why "Bigger Questions"
In my new Product Coalition series, I surface under-explored strategic challenges, enlist advanced AI to generate multi-angle responses, and then expose both the questions and the answers to rigorous, public critique. In a market where AI can replica...
Source: Product Coalition | 08:38 PM
Cracking EdTech Growth: Free Courses, Early Access, Sales Team - What Works the Best
When we initially entered the U.S. market, we expected users would want to explore the platform, features and how everything works on their own. The idea was to lower barriers and offer total freedom - again, no pressure, no "pushy" sales tactics. Bu...
Source: HackerNoon - product-management | 08:16 PM
The Secret to Great Products? Mastering the Messy Middle
Product managers often struggle to balance thinking big and working small. The 'messy middle' sits between our grand, long-term business strategies and our short-term, agile experiments that take weeks. John Cutler, a renowned product coach, offers a...
Source: HackerNoon - product-management | 07:32 PM
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104: John Cutler - How to Turn Team Chaos into Strategy
Forget corporate utopias - John Cutler spills the real tea on why work sucks and why we are messy. On "organized anarchies," why 50% of your team is checked out, and how to turn chaos into strategy. Perfect for you if you are tired of performative fr...
Source: Leah’s ProducTea | 02:08 PM
Most People are Building AI Products Wrong - Here's How to do it Right
We're living in the era of compound AI. Huh? It’s the era where any product can be enhanced with AI. But here's the problem: most products are bolting AI onto existing features. They're not reimagining their core experiences from the ground up....
Source: Product Growth | 01:46 PM
Inside monday.com’s transformation: radical transparency, impact over output, and their path to $1B ARR | Daniel Lereya (Chief Product and Technology Officer)
Listen now: YouTube // Apple // Spotify Brought to you by: Enterpret—Transform customer feedback into product growth Airtable ProductCentral—Launch to new heights with a unified system for product development Vanta—Automate complian...
Source: Lenny's Newsletter | 11:02 AM
Sunday Rewind: Metrics don’t have all the answers: a human-centered approach to business strategy by Samihah Azim
This week’s Sunday Rewind is a 2022 #mtpcon Digital Americas talk from Samihah Azim, then a product designer at Cash App, which looks at the importance of taking a human-centred approach to product design. During her talk, Samihah walks us through a ...
Source: Mind the Product | 09:00 AM
Buiding the Kimolian Academy: How Eleni Lialiamou is helping women break into product
For Eleni Lialiamou, Kimolian Academy started quietly—coaching sessions on weekends, shared Google Docs, informal meetups in borrowed rooms. But today, Kimolian Academy is becoming a rising community for women in product. Founded by Eleni, a product ...
Source: Mind the Product | 12:46 PM
How this former NYT columnist uses ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, do research, and find the perfect metaphor | Farhad Manjoo
Watch or listen now: YouTube // Spotify // Apple Brought to you by: Enterpret—Customer SuperIntelligence Platform for Product and CX teams Vanta—Automate compliance and simplify security with Vanta Farhad Manjoo, a former New York Times a...
Source: Lenny's Newsletter | 11:03 AM
How to work like an AI-first PM
The death of Product Management is greatly exaggerated. Last year, and I discussed why Product Management is likely to become more essential not less essential in the age of AI. But AI has certainly changed product development—not by replacing ...
Source: Ravi on Product | 12:02 PM
Welcome to Lenny's Reads
Many of you have told me that you’d prefer to listen to this newsletter instead of read it. I’m excited to share that now you can. Introducing Lenny’s Reads: an audio podcast edition of Lenny’s Newsletter. Every newsletter pos...
Source: Lenny's Newsletter | 06:15 PM
No One Is Coming. Everyone’s Busy.
Working without processes might feel like freedom — until it turns into chaos. This is a personal story of a developer who went from startup burnout and tribal knowledge to discovering the real value of structure, accountability, and team alignment. ...
Source: HackerNoon - product-management | 04:00 PM
The fastest way to good alt text is learning what to leave out
How not to write alt text — what works, what doesn’t, and what the experts say — in a very simple guide. Continue reading on UX Collective »
Source: UX Collective - Medium | 03:24 PM
Duolingo announces AI-first strategy
Global learning platform Duolingo is transitioning to become an AI-first company, following an official statement from its CEO, Luis von Ahn. In a company-wide email, Luis said: “AI is already changing how work gets done. It’s not a question of if or...
Source: Mind the Product | 02:13 PM
A case study : Phased approach to driving Reels production on Facebook
Discover how Facebook Reels grew from a cold start to 140M creations through smart product pivots, creator tools, and a relentless focus on quality content. Read more » The post A case study : Phased approach to driving Reels productio...
Source: Mind the Product | 01:08 PM