How to Become a Gen AI Product Manager?
Practical Tips
Hey, I’m Shailesh Sharma! I help PMs and business leaders excel in Product, Strategy, and AI using First Principles Thinking.
For more, check out my Live cohort course, PM Interview Mastery Course, Cracking Strategy, and other Resources
Okay, let’s talk about Generative AI Product Management.
It’s a hot topic now. Gen AI can create new things like text and images.
The job market for AI product managers is changing fast. Companies want people with Gen AI experience.
It’s not the same as a traditional AI experience. That’s why it’s important to learn new skills.
How can you learn? [FREE Resources]
Check out deeplearning.ai for short courses. This course will give you a good basic understanding of LLMs and how Gen AI Works
Check out our FREE Videos “GEN AI for Product Managers” [Subscribe to our Channel for updates]
—> GEN AI for Everyone - Watch Here ←
—> How Gen AI works - Watch Here ←Building apps with LLMs is very helpful. It shows you understand the technology. Start using the AI tools to build the prototype, etc.
Subscribe to newsletters like MIT Tech Review and Alpha Signal. They talk about new AI models.
Knowing the basics helps you talk to engineers.
Get experience by building things. You don’t need a huge idea. Think about your daily tasks. Could Gen AI help automate them?
For example, you can build an app to help with job searching. It can find jobs and tailor your resume. Automation is key with LLMs.
Think about the apps you use every day. How could AI make them better? Imagine Uber Eats suggesting food based on your preferences in a conversation.
This “AI-first” thinking is important.
All product managers will likely need this AI thinking in the future. Start practising now.
When looking for jobs, consider what you need and what fits your background.
→ Don’t only look at big companies. Startups can give you hands-on experience. This experience can help you later.
→ Even in big companies, look for roles with less AI experience needed. You can learn from teams that already have AI processes. Be ambitious, but also realistic.
→ Research companies and their products before interviews. Think about how you could use AI there. Understand their problems and use cases.
Use frameworks like the Gucci framework (Goal, Customer, Unmet Needs, Competitors, Integrated Ecosystem, Roadmap) to analyse products. This helps you prepare for interviews.
Mindset is very important. Step out of your comfort zone. Be open to new challenges and learning….
Be consistent in wanting to work with Gen AI. Don’t compromise on your goals.
Broaden your job search. Interview with different types of companies. Learn from each interview, even rejections. Rejections are normal and a chance to learn.
Have a growth mindset. Believe you can improve and reach your goals.
It might take time to find the right job. Focus on the right offer, not just any offer.
What’s the difference between Gen AI PM and traditional AI PM?
Traditional AI PMs often build everything from scratch. This includes getting data and building models. It can take years.
Gen AI PMs use existing foundational models. Examples are Amazon Bedrock, Meta’s Llama, and Microsoft’s OpenAI.
This saves a lot of time. You can build and launch things much faster, maybe in months.
Startups without their own models can use these existing ones. So, the shift is from building the AI engine to choosing the right engine and building on top of it. This makes bringing AI applications to life much quicker.
The future of AI in products is exciting. Think about how AI can change things like Instagram.
To succeed in Gen AI product management, keep learning, get hands-on experience, think strategically, and learn from everything.
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