How are you influencing how Product thinks about AI in the roadmap? What can I do to be a more credible partner to the product team in this area?

Oh boy, this is a fun one.

First, it's important to note that my team has a really strong working relationship with Product. It's not always the case in every company, and I think it's fair to those who don't that I provide this context.

I do my own reading and research. I need to know enough to understand what good looks like and what's not meeting the bar for differentiated innovation. You can't do that if you're just sitting around and waiting for Product to hand you a list of features.

I am also incessant with asking PMs questions about everything. I am constantly asking clarifying questions and challenging assumptions - both to learn and to stretch the sometimes-constrained thinking of my peers. Before you reach out, come with a baseline level of understanding to help the conversation be as productive as possible.

Do a lot of competitive research. It will be non-stop because the market is changing so rapidly. Become a source of market knowledge to your PM counterparts. Draft potential stories you can tell in market. Come up with new ways of packaging or branding your AI offerings that might seem unconventional. Push the limits and be radical. It's more fun that way and you'll be able to work with Product to find a happy medium between what's explicitly in the code and the aspirational marketing fluff.