When I stepped into my first Product Management role, I thought my main job would be defining “what” to build and ensuring “why” was clear. What I didn’t realize was how much of my time would be spent… waiting.

The waiting game

In those first months, I quickly learned that even small changes could take days — or weeks — to move forward.

• Labels and tooltips? Sometimes they sat in a Product Marketing backlog for weeks before validation.
• Design assets? It could take two sprints to get the attention of a busy designer.
• Wireframes? When they finally arrived, it was like magic — instantly unlocking faster conversations with developers.

The delays weren’t anyone’s fault. Everyone was juggling priorities. But as a PM, it felt like watching opportunities slip away in slow motion.

A glimpse of a faster future

Then I saw something that changed my perspective entirely.

One afternoon, a senior developer on my team opened GitHub Copilot, tweaked a chunk of code, iterated on the design, and had a working feature ready for testing in under 30 minutes.

No waiting for a designer. No back-and-forth over a ticket for days. Just… done.

It reminded me of an admin tool revamp we’d just completed. Initially scoped as a “multi-month” project, it wrapped up in mere weeks—thanks to a combination of clearer wireframes, tighter feedback loops, and AI-assisted development.

Connecting the dots

These moments connected directly to what thought leaders like Claire Vo, Andrew Ng, and Lenny Rachitsky have been saying in recent talks:

• From Claire Vo’s “Hard truths about the future of Product Management” – Product as usual is dead. AI is making “yes” the default answer because the cost of trying something new is radically lower.
• From Andrew Ng’s “Building faster with AI” – The acceleration isn’t just in code; it’s in every layer of the product process, from ideation to delivery.
• From Lenny’s “Product Management is dead” panel – Roles are blending. The “talent stack” is collapsing. One person, with AI, can do what used to require a team.

The collapsing talent stack

I’ve already seen how AI blurs the lines between roles:

•  A PM can use AI to generate draft copy that’s 80% ready — no waiting for marketing sign-off.
• A developer can iterate on UI without a dedicated designer in the loop.
• A PMM can pull competitive research, analyze customer sentiment, and shape positioning in hours instead of weeks.

These aren’t edge cases anymore — they’re becoming normal.

Yes is the new no

In the old world, saying “no” was how PMs managed scope and focus. But in an AI-accelerated world, “yes” might be the better default.

When experiments cost pennies and hours instead of weeks and thousands, the risk of trying is much lower. The real danger is not moving fast enough.

Rethinking team ratios

If a single developer can now deliver what used to take three, does that mean we need fewer devs?
Maybe.

But more importantly, it means the balance between PMs, PMMs, and engineers will shift. A smaller dev team could support a larger portfolio of products — if PMs are equipped to move quickly and fill gaps with AI.

Where this leaves us

The future of product management is less about guarding the roadmap and more about orchestrating momentum.

For me, that means:

• Never letting “waiting” be the bottleneck — if AI can move something forward, I’ll use it.
• Being a “super IC” — comfortable with research, design, copywriting, and basic technical changes.
• Championing “yes” — because the cost of trying is lower than the cost of standing still.

The PM role isn’t disappearing. It’s evolving fast. And as someone who’s just getting started, I can’t think of a more exciting time to be here.

Credits

"Hard truths about the future of product management" by Figma's Config.

"Product Management is dead, so what are we doing instead" by Lenny and Friends Summit.

"Andrew Ng: Building faster with AI" by Y Combinator.