Ever wonder how some product managers seem to grow their skills at lightning speed and keep their teams running smoothly, even in the midst of constant change? 

It's not magic; often, it's about smart adoption of new tools and approaches. But how do you jump on board with something as big as AI without getting overwhelmed?

I'm here to share my insights on exactly that. We'll explore how AI has been a game-changer for me, from boosting my individual skills to making our team's processes more efficient. You’ll also see how it can sharpen the way you communicate with your design and engineering partners.

Whatever stage you’re at in your career, and whether you’re brand-new to AI or already knee-deep in developing AI products and features, there are learnings here for you.

Let’s dive in.

A real-world AI breakthrough

Once upon a time, my team was working on a feature that needed a specific ingredient: logos for every major US bank or lender, precisely sized and tagged. Off-the-shelf solutions weren't going to cut it. A coworker discovered a promising API, and someone theorized a script could be written, but the conversation fizzled out.

As the new guy on the team, I was eager to prove myself and make the product shine. Despite not being a coder, I decided to try writing the script with ChatGPT as my copilot. Lo and behold, within minutes (perhaps an hour, given it was early ChatGPT), I had a directory of hundreds of usable bank logos. I was completely sold on what felt like magic.

This experience gave me the confidence that AI was the key to extending my skills and helping me get ahead.

Now, in the title of this article, I promised to help supercharge your PM competencies and practices with AI. So, let’s dive into three stories that show how you can do just that.

Supercharge #1: Becoming a data-driven product manager

After my initial AI success, I needed to define the type of product manager I wanted to be. Working in the insurance industry, one of the O.G. data-driven sectors, the answer was clear: I committed to becoming a data-driven PM.

This wasn't easy. Despite running on data, our business didn't cater to a product manager's immediate data needs. Requesting bespoke reports often meant waiting until the next quarter, or even being told to stop asking. 

I knew the data I wanted existed, but my limited SQL knowledge and basic Excel pivots weren't enough to access it.

Unlocking data with Python and AI

Luckily, my boss was aware of my data dreams, so he suggested I explore Jupyter Notebooks and Python. These tools could empower me to dive deep into our data, perform complex analyses, and create visualizations. I had no idea how to use them, and with a young child at home, reading a Python book wasn't an option.