AI Product Management In The Real World With Diego Granados

In this episode of The Agile Academy Podcast, Diego Granados joins Vivek to talk honestly about what it is really like to build AI products at companies like Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Google, and why this moment in AI is such a big deal for product people. Diego shares how he went from having no technical background to leading AI products, and how that journey led him to co author The AI Product Playbook.​ Diego and Vivek dig into the fears many product managers, business analysts, and product owners have about being replaced by AI, and reframe AI as a tool that multiplies your impact rather than eliminates your role. They walk through concrete examples of how AI can supercharge analysis, strategy, and communication, and why the product managers who know how to use these tools will outpace those who ignore them.​ Key Takeaways What AI product managers really do Diego breaks down three paths in AI product management: AI enhanced PM, AI experience PM, and AI builder PM and what each role actually owns day to day. You learn how to think about your own career path depending on your strengths and interests.​ Will AI replace product roles Instead of worrying about AI taking jobs, Diego shows how AI is becoming the new Excel, a tool that makes great product managers, analysts, and leaders 10 times more effective if they learn to use it. The real risk is refusing to adapt while others around you do.​ How to become an AI savvy PM Diego shares a practical roadmap for someone starting as a business analyst, project manager, or junior PM who wants to move into AI product work without trying to make one giant leap. He explains how to stack experience, choose the right roles, and build genuine AI fluency along the way.​ Building and shipping AI features The conversation goes deep on how AI changes the product development lifecycle, from data and guardrails to evaluation and post launch monitoring. Diego explains why working with probabilistic systems like LLMs demands a different mindset than traditional deterministic software.​ Using AI to 10x your productivity Diego walks through how he personally uses tools like Gemini to draft strategy docs, process customer feedback, and prioritize roadmaps, and how anyone can run similar workflows with their own tools of choice. The focus is on finding the parts of your job that consume the most time and letting AI handle the heavy lifting.​ Career and learning mindset From using AI to evaluate your resume against job descriptions to stress testing your interview answers, Diego shares ways to turn AI into a career coach. He also talks about formal education, risk taking, and why degrees can open doors but do not define your ceiling as a product manager.​ Connect With Diego LinkedIn Diego Granados: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diegogranadosh/ Timestamps 00:00 - Welcome and Diego’s background in AI and product management​ 03:00 - Will AI replace PMs, BAs, and product owners or make them stronger​ 06:00 - Industry trends gen AI hype, guardrails, and where startups can still win​ 08:00 - Why Diego wrote The AI Product Playbook and who it is really for​ 12:00 - The three AI PM paths AI experience, AI builder, and AI enhanced​ 17:00 - How much AI knowledge do you actually need as a PM​ 20:00 - A realistic multi step path into AI product management​ 21:00 - How AI changes product development from data to evaluations​ 26:00 - Mindset and skills of effective AI product managers​ 28:00 - Real examples of using AI to 10x productivity in PM workflows​ 34:00 - Using AI to plan your growth, promotions, and job search​ 37:00 - Do you really need a college degree to be a successful PM​ 39:00 - Why Diego fell in love with AI product management and predicting the future​ 41:00 - Final thoughts on where AI and product careers are headed​ If this episode resonated with you, share it with a fellow PM, BA, or aspiring product leader who is trying to figure out their next step in the age of AI.