Published on May 12, 2025
Hey!
Welcome to your monthly dose of product wisdom, straight from the dualoop team
Is AI making product managers irrelevant, or just… more powerful?
This month, we’re diving into how AI is reshaping product roles, from strategic decision-making to daily execution.
We’ll explore what skills still matter, how to future-proof yourself, and why AI might be your new best friend (or the reason you need to rethink your role).
💡 Spoiler: The robots aren’t replacing you. But they are changing the game.
️⚡️ Don't miss this!
The best upcoming product events to keep on your radar:
The Dublin Product Conference | Dublin | May 20
A day of practical talks & insights with 200+ product folks.
La Product Conf Paris | Paris | May 20
Must-attend for French-speaking PMs.
La Product Conf Madrid | Madrid | May 22
Fresh takes on product innovation, growth, and team alignment.
dualoop Product Design Apéro | Brussels | June 4
Hear about the future of product design & connect over drinks.
South Summit Madrid | Madrid | June 4
We'll be on stage & discuss how AI is changing the product landscape.
Belgium Startup Awards | Brussels | June 5
We'll be there too, sharing about the future of product!
🚨 What's up in product?
The PM role is splitting in two.
We’re at a turning point. But product managers aren’t being replaced by AI: they’re being repositioned.
AI hasn’t made product managers obsolete, but it’s made a lot of their old habits irrelevant.
From Timoté Geimer’s recent talks to our recent deep dive Product Apéro with Marv Gillibrand (Head of Product at Colibri Digital, ex-McKinsey), the message is the same:
“Execution is being automated. Your value lies upstream.” – Timoté Geimer
“AI didn’t kill the product manager. It killed the backlog manager.” – Marv Gillibrand
Prompt technicians vs strategic operators
As tooling handles more of the how (spec writing, backlog hygiene, analytics dashboards), the PM role is diverging:
Prompt technicians: excellent at leveraging AI to move faster, optimise, deliver more with less.
Strategic operators: focused on problem framing, organisational alignment, and shaping product bets.
The future belongs to those who can blend both, but most PMs today over-index on delivery.
🚧 What’s changing on the ground
💬 So what can’t be replaced?
Let’s be clear: these are the parts of the job AI can’t touch & the ones that matter most moving forward:
- Making judgment calls when the data isn’t clear
- Understanding context, nuance, and edge cases
- Building trust with teams and execs
- Crafting product narratives people can rally behind
“AI handles the small brain work. Humans need to own the big brain work.”
That’s the shift.
🛠️ A simple way to check your balance
Here’s how PMs can reflect on their current workload:
🔑 5 new core skills for AI-era PMs
Strategic thinking
→ Deeply understand market trends, customer needs, and company strategy.
AI fluency (not AI obsession)
→ You don’t need to code. But you do need to prompt well, review critically, and know when to say “no thanks.”
Discovery that drives insight
→ AI helps spot patterns. But only you can spot what’s worth acting on.
Creative & ethical leadership
→ AI can generate ideas, but it's not wise. When the data’s a mess and the decision has to be made, you’re the one who makes the call.
🚀 Ready to adapt?
Try this this week:
- Audit your calendar. What % is shaping vs managing?
- Pick one thing to automate, one to kill, and one to double down on.
- Block 1h / week to build AI fluency
Bottom line?
The best PMs aren’t adding tools to their stack. They’re evolving how they think, work, and lead!
🚀 Template to the rescue
“How do I know I’m evolving as a PM?” Start here.
It’s 2025. AI can draft specs, prioritise backlogs, even write user stories. So where does that leave you?
🧭 Here’s a self-assessment checklist to help you reflect on your evolving PM role: Am I still doing what matters?
✅ The 2025 AI-ready PM skill check
Strategic thinking
☐ I focus on defining problems, not just managing features
☐ I make sure product decisions connect to clear business goals
AI fluency
☐ I use AI tools to support research, writing, or planning
☐ I know how to prompt well and spot when AI gets it wrong
☐ I understand the risks of using AI (bias, bad data, over-reliance)
Discovery & insight
☐ I still talk to real users weekly, even if AI helps summarise the notes
☐ I combine patterns from AI with real human insight
Creative & ethical leadership
☐ I help my team understand the “why,” not just what’s on the roadmap
☐ I simplify complex ideas so others can make better decisions
Focus & automation
☐ I’ve automated at least one low-value task in my routine
☐ I’ve stopped doing something AI now does better than me
☐ I spend less time maintaining the backlog, and more time shaping what matters
✅ How many boxes did you tick?
0–3 → Still stuck in backlog mode
That’s okay, but the role is evolving. Time to rework your rituals and lean into strategy!
4–6 → Getting AI-aware, but not AI-ready
You’re starting to adapt. Next step? Double down on discovery, alignment, and creative problem framing.
7–9 → Thinking strategically, building the right habits
You’re working on what AI can’t replace: judgment, communication, and outcomes. Keep building that edge!
10–12 → Product thinker, future-ready PM
You’ve evolved with the role. You shape bets, coach teams, and make sense of complexity. You’re exactly where the role is going!
🧠 Tip from the loopers:
“If AI can already do 30% of your job, your focus should be on owning the 70% it can’t. That’s where the value is and where product strategy starts.”
💡 Do you say “hi” to AI?
Be honest. Have you ever thanked Alexa? Greeted ChatGPT? Given your Roomba a name? You’re not alone. But why? AI doesn’t care. It’s not human. It doesn’t need your politeness.
So why do we do it? 🤯
The answer is buried deep in our psychology, and it’s changing the way AI is designed, how we interact with it, and maybe even how we see ourselves.
🔥 Real talk
“You can’t automate your way out of human problems.” - Timoté Geimer, CEO @ dualoop
Here’s one from Timoté Geimer, our CEO, and someone who’s seen more product teams up close than most of us can count: “Everyone’s talking about AI like it’s a magic fix. But the real problems I see? They’re still painfully human.”
- Teams misaligned on objectives
- Stakeholders talking past each other
- Meetings with no owner, no goal, and no follow-up
- No one tracking outcomes—or having honest conversations when they’re missed
“You can’t optimise what you haven’t clarified.”
AI is powerful but it won’t save your team from confusion, misalignment, or unclear thinking. If you haven’t figured out where you’re going or why it matters, no tech can fix that for you!
∞ What's up at dualoop
Here’s where you can learn, connect & grow with us:
Product Management training
May 19-20 | Brussels
Level up your PM skills during our 2-day, hands-on session!
Product Design Apéro
June 4th | Brussels
Get ready to dive into the power of design in shaping exceptional products.
🎨 UX/UI audit | Foodbag
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Boosting CRO in food delivery apps
Your users are hungry 🍔 Don’t let your UI overwhelm them.
When we audited Foodbag’s product page, we spotted a classic mistake: too much information, all at once.
📏 According to Miller’s Law, the average person can only process ~7 items. So when your product cards display ingredients, calorie counts, labels, ratings, and prices all at once… guess what happens?
🧠 Cognitive overload. And hungry users bounce.
✅ What we did: We restructured Foodbag’s product cards by chunking related information (like price + call-to-action), simplifying visual noise through better contrast, spacing, and visual hierarchy.
Result: A cleaner, faster shopping experience!
💡 Less cognitive load → better user flow → higher potential conversion.
Want your own UX audit?
We regularly help product teams improve their UX with quick, practical audits. If you’d like us to review your product, let us know. We’d be happy to help!
👀 We need your insights!
Are you a Head of Product, CPO, or product leader in fintech, banking, or insurance?
We’re interviewing product leaders to understand how they tackle:
- Team structure
- Decision-making
- Alignment across functions
- Measuring success
You’ll get early access to the insights & a chance to shape a useful resource for the whole product community.
That’s it for this edition, thanks for reading!
See you next month, same loop, sharper product. 👋
