How AI Will Change the Shape of Product Teams
As a Chief Product Officer (CPO), I spend a lot of time thinking about how my teams should evolve to meet the future. With AI accelerating the pace of innovation, the classic approach to building product teams won’t cut it anymore. The roles, skills, and structures we’ve relied on for years are shifting fast. What worked yesterday won’t guarantee success tomorrow.
Here’s how I see AI changing the shape of Product teams; and what CPOs, and leaders generally, should be thinking about to stay ahead.
1. Staying Ahead Requires a Growth Mindset (and Real Investment in It)
AI is transforming everything from customer experience to back-end operations. For CPOs, that means staying ahead of the curve is more than a personal ambition. It’s a business necessity.
But here’s the truth: keeping up with AI trends is a full-time job. That’s why I believe every product organisation should invest in a dedicated resource to track trends, tailwinds, and emerging opportunities.
An in-house Futurist role
Imagine a one-year rotational role - part researcher, part strategist - focused solely on understanding what’s next. This person would track industry shifts, emerging technologies, and competitive moves, then synthesise those insights into opportunities for the Product team. It’s a perfect role for a future product leader - someone who can go deep on trends today and drive strategy tomorrow.
This investment isn’t a luxury; it’s becoming the only way to create and defend competitive advantage. In a world where nobody is more than 3-6 months ahead of their competitors, the ability to spot and act on trends quickly is what separates leaders from laggards.
2. Diversity of Thought Isn’t Optional, It’s Core to Winning with AI
AI brings both opportunities and risks, and the only way to navigate them is through diverse perspectives. Product teams can’t just be filled with people who’ve “done it before” in the same ways.
Why? Because AI is reshaping customer behaviour, unlocking new business models, and introducing ethical complexities we’ve never faced. To tackle these challenges, we need teams with a wide range of experiences, disciplines, and viewpoints.
But diversity of thought isn’t just about backgrounds or demographics - it’s about capabilities too.
AI-literate Product Managers who can translate opportunities into outcomes.
Data Scientists and Ethicists to guide responsible AI use.
Operational Experts to scale what works and measure impact.
The future of product development will belong to teams that are diverse not only in who they are but in how they think.
3. The Project-Manager Product Manager Won’t Cut It Anymore
Let’s be real: the classic “Project Manager in a Product Manager’s clothing” is becoming obsolete. AI moves too fast, and opportunities are too nuanced for Product leaders who are only good at managing sprints and shipping on time.
Tomorrow’s best Product people will be:
Strategic: Comfortable working in ambiguity and shaping outcomes, not just generating outputs.
AI-literate: Able to properly / deeply experiment with AI tools, analyse data quickly, and apply insights.
Customer-obsessed: Using AI to deepen understanding of user behaviour(s), not just optimise funnels.
This shift means we must rethink our hiring profiles. I’m focusing less on past titles and more on curiosity, adaptability, and an experimental mindset.
4. Product Ops Is Critical to Scale and Speed
If Product Managers are the drivers of innovation, Product Operations (Product Ops) folk are the pit crew - keeping everything running at peak performance.
In an AI-driven environment, Product Ops become even more vital. They:
Optimise workflows: Integrating AI into roadmapping, customer feedback analysis, and multivariate testing.
Measure what matters: Ensuring we’re tracking the right outcomes - not just outputs.
Drive consistency: Working across teams, making it easier to scale what works and kill what doesn’t.
Without strong Product Ops, your team might be busy but they won’t be effective.
5. A Tight Exec Team Matters More Than Ever
AI isn’t just a product opportunity, it’s a company-wide transformation. And that means alignment at the top is critical.
The CPO role has never been more central to a company’s trajectory. Product vision sets the direction not only for what we build but for how we compete and differentiate. But here’s the key: the best product vision means nothing if the exec team isn’t rowing in the same direction.
In my experience, a strong CPO-CEO relationship is table stakes, but it’s just the start. The best outcomes happen when the whole executive team - CMO, CRO, CFO, etc - collaborates as one unit, breaking down silos and connecting product strategy to every function.
6. Agility and Speed: The Only Sustainable Advantage
Finally, let’s talk about what matters more than almost anything in an AI-driven world: speed.
AI is compressing timelines. What used to take months can now happen in weeks. What teams might’ve toiled over for weeks previously can be achieved in hours. Competitors aren’t just startups - they’re anyone with a good idea and the ability to execute fast.
That means the most critical skills on your team are:
Rapid experimentation: Quickly test AI applications and either scale them or kill them.
Adaptability: Shift direction fast when new data emerges.
Execution velocity: Build, ship, and iterate faster than your competitors.
The hard truth is that in an AI-driven market, the ability to drive rapid transformation isn’t just a skill - it’s survival.
The AI-Driven Product Team: What It Looks Like
So, what does this all add up to? A future-ready Product team is:
Insights-driven: With a dedicated researcher identifying opportunities.
Diverse in thought and capability: Bringing new perspectives to complex problems.
Strategic, not just operational: With Product Managers who are thinkers, not just doers.
Operationally excellent: With Product Ops driving efficiency and outcomes.
Tightly aligned at the top: With an exec team that moves as one.
Fast and fearless: With agility as their defining trait.
Final Thought: The Best Teams Will Build the Best AI - and Vice Versa
AI will change the shape of product teams, but it’s also true that the best teams will shape how AI changes the business.
As a CPO, I’m embracing this shift with a growth mindset - investing in new roles, new capabilities, and new ways of working. Because at the end of the day, AI isn’t just a tool; it’s a force multiplier for human potential.
In the future we’re building, the strongest, most adaptive teams will always win.