This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rishab Jolly, 37, a senior program manager at Microsoft, based in Washington. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I landed a job at Microsoft as a program manager in 2017, after moving to the US for my MBA.
I’m now a senior PM and find my role very fulfilling. My role involves developing ideas for products and features that enhance the customer experience, but also drafting plans that take the product from development to shipping to the customer. PMs are like the glue that brings different teams, across engineering, marketing, and business, together to work on each project.
As AI tools have become more prevalent, I’ve felt excited about the technology’s potential to help me in my role. I consider myself an early adopter who’s been upskilling to make sure I have AI as a new tool in my toolbox.
Here are the ways AI helps me, both in my job and personal life, that are relatively easy to replicate.
In my role at Microsoft, AI gives me time back to focus on more meaningful tasks
I studied computer science engineering for my bachelor’s degree in India, where I’m from, before moving to the US in 2015 for my MBA. I also worked as a software engineer in India for four years, at companies using AI and machine learning in some form, before LLMs arrived on the scene. I wouldn’t have called myself an AI expert, but I understood how the technology worked.
As AI tools have become more commonplace, I’ve used them to make my work faster and easier.
PMs like me spend a huge amount of time in meetings. When I first joined Microsoft, I compiled notes manually to help me understand what I needed to action afterward. Now, I use can use AI tools for note-taking, which has given me back a lot of time to focus on more meaningful work, like strategic thinking and prioritization.
Part of my job as a PM is to write documents that provide clarity to engineering teams about our goals and priorities. AI tools can help reduce the time spent on an initial draft. I then review, edit, and shape the AI-generated content myself, applying my judgment and experience before sharing the document with the team.
AI supports my love for podcasting in my spare time
Courtesy of Rishab Jolly
At work, I use the tools available at Microsoft, but in my personal life, I like experimenting and getting my hands dirty with a wide range of tools, from ChatGPT and Perplexity to Gemini.
I started a podcast called “Curious Souls” in 2022 with my wife, who also works in tech, where we talk about our passion for product management, AI, fitness, and other topics with guest speakers. It’s my hobby.
Researching topics by asking PMs what they wanted to hear about and coming up with ideas for guests was very time-consuming.
Now, I can speed up the process by prompting LLMs to search Reddit for hot topics that PMs are talking about and ask the chatbot to generate a script about the chosen topic. I can even generate an audio clip of the script to listen to while driving to the gym and ponder on how the podcast might sound if I used the script.
I still dedicate between four and five hours each weekend to the podcast, but with AI, I’m able to accomplish much more in that time than before. I can now spend more time editing content, refining questions, and on personal activities like spending time with family.
Experimenting with AI in personal projects has helped me understand where AI is helpful and where it isn’t. For example, when I was using AI to generate podcast scripts, I found that it sometimes generated inaccurate outputs, like placeholder links that don’t actually exist, so I usually treat AI output as a starting point and make sure to check it.
As a result, I’m more intentional when I use AI at work, knowing when to rely on automation and when human judgment is essential. I think it’s worth experimenting with AI outside of work on low-risk projects, like planning hobbies or trips, before applying similar techniques professionally.
PMs are going to need to become proficient with AI, so you may as well start now
Courtesy of Rishab Jolly
Instead of being fearful of AI, I’ve decided to embrace it. In the future, I think PMs will be expected to know how to use AI to do things faster.
Even with AI, I think the crux of the PM role will remain the same: being empathetic to customers and solving their problems. AI will make us more capable of solving those issues, and it can give us suggestions for how to approach issues, but the judgment calls will always be made by humans. It won’t replace us, but it will be an essential tool to make our lives easier.
My advice to PMs is to embrace AI and get your hands dirty by experimenting with it, not just in your job, but in daily life. There’s no way around it, and the sooner you start doing it, the faster you’ll see benefits.
Do you have a story to share about how you use AI at work? Contact this reporter at ccheong@businessinsider.com
