We track Product so you don't have to. Top Podcasts summarised, the latest AI tools, plus research and news in a 5 min digest.

Hey Product fans!

Welcome back to 🌮 Product Tapas, your weekly digest of all things innovative and intriguing in the product world. If you're here from a forward, dive deeper by signing up and exploring past editions right here.

What’s on the menu today? 🧑‍🍳 

📰 Not Boring - Yet more outrageous steps in AI; OpenAI's latest update can create realistic replica voices with just 15 seconds of audio. Meanwhile, Google Podcasts bows out, Apple Vision Pro gets even more immersive, and Replit aims to unbug your code in a flash. Plus, California's pondering a "right to disconnect" law.

⌚ Time-Saving Tools & GPTs - This week's toolkit is bursting with potential: Tailor keeps you informed, fynk streamlines contracts, and GPTSidekick navigates the AI chatbot jungle for you. From meeting notes to AI-powered data viz, we've got you covered.

🍔 Blog Bites - Dive into UX wisdom with Peter Ramsay, remember the essence of Continuous Discovery, and get a crash course in executive communication. Plus, learn why breaking down outcomes could trump initiatives.

🎙️ Pod Shots - Strap in for a journey to the future of Product with Gonzalez de Villambrosia on "The Product Podcast". It's all about the seismic shifts AI is ushering in, being more commercial in Product teams and the evolution and trends in senior product roles.

There's a feast of insights and innovations to explore, so let’s dig in! 🚀👇

📰 Not boring

• OpenAI can now create an accurate-sounding synthesised voice from only 15 seconds of audio. It’s not going to be released to the public for misuse concerns, but lots are working on this and good-enough versions will be common pretty damn soon. Cue a sizeable spike in fraud.

• Google Podcasts is shutting down after capturing only 4% of users (US)

• Apple Vision Pro launches spatial personas on VisionOS 1.1

• Replit launches new ”code repair” product in the ongoing race for AI coding assistants

• California considering law to give workers the “right to disconnect” after work hours

Want even more news?? View more here → 

📰 Time-Saving Tools & GPTs

This week’s selection covers everything from contract reviews, BI to data visualisations and more:

• Tailor - Daily news summaries curated for you

• fynk - create, review, track sign and analyse contracts at scale

• typper - AI powered Business Intelligence tool

• GPTSidekick - unsure which chatbot to use? GPT Sidekick aims to give “affordable Access to GPT-4, Claude 3, Gemini, MistralAI, DALL-E 3, Stable Diffusion, Text to Speech & Image Analysis”

• Supernormal - another meeting note-taker for those looking to try something different

• Flowsage - helps you create better data flow visualisations using AI

• Yahoo is buying Artifact, the AI news app from the Instagram co-founders, for its tech

🍔 Blog Bites - Essential Reads for Product Teams

Case Studies: UX Bites #16 - Hackernoon, Adzuna & More

Peter Ramsay’s most recent UX bites has some great examples from unlikely suspects this week. From framing a free benefit to making investing more visual and more, there are 5 great short examples in this week’s post.

Learn: Don’t turn Continuous Discovery into Dogmatic Discovery

"The biggest moat you can always have is how fast you can learn." - nice short article on remembering the point of continuous discovery and how Product management frameworks are just that - frameworks. Not step by step models of how to get to the “right” answer.

Executive Communication

Here’s a short piece with some useful links from Hustle Badger about how the best executives communicate.

Planning: Break Outcomes Down, Not Initiatives

Many PMs get stuck day to day incrementally focused on breaking down the solution not the problem. Any Murphy’s blog post here explains how he coaches on slicing outcomes first not initiatives.

🎙️ Pod Shots

Today we cover a recent “The Product Podcast” episode with Gonzalez de Villambrosia, CEO of Product School. The episode delves into the future of Product, highlighting the strategic importance of product teams in driving revenue growth and customer retention. Carlos also emphasises how AI-driven innovation is reshaping the landscape. He discusses the need for product teams to adapt and shares insights on how to thrive in the tech industry amidst AI-driven transformation.

⚒️ The Future of Product

🎙️ Listen to the full episode here 

📆 Published: March 21st, 2024

🕒 Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes. Time saved: 20 minutes🔥 

🚀 The Dawn of the AI Era and the Magnificent Seven

At the onset, the episode positions us at the beginning of what is heralded as a new industrial revolution powered by artificial intelligence. Carlos highlights the unprecedented growth of the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants, driving the S&P 500 index to all-time highs and underscoring the critical window of opportunity for PMs to emerge as winners in this transformation.

🛠️ Key Product Trends Shaping the Future

Three pivotal product trends are reshaping the industry right now: the strategic role of product teams in revenue growth, the evolving position of product within organisational hierarchies, and the increasing integration of AI in product development processes.

📈 Product Teams Driving Revenue Growth

Product teams are now expected to contribute to revenue growth, moving beyond just delivering user value. Carlos stresses that building an excellent customer experience is no longer sufficient; products must also be monetisable. He explains the importance of product teams partnering with go-to-market teams, including marketing, sales, and customer success, to drive revenue. Tools like software as a service (SaaS) platforms are mentioned as enablers for enhancing marketing strategies and customer engagement.

👩‍💼 Product Function's Strategic Position

The narrative shifts to the strategic positioning of the product function within organisations. Carlos highlights the shift where product teams are no longer under the tech umbrella but are at the intersection of technology and business. The rise of Chief Product Officers in Fortune 100 companies signifies the growing importance of product leadership at the executive level. The flattening of career ladders and the expectation for product managers to take on strategic responsibilities showcase the evolving role of product professionals in driving business outcomes.

🔄 Evolution of Agile Frameworks and Processes

The discussion critiques traditional agile frameworks, pointing out their limitations in addressing the entire product lifecycle and connecting development efforts to business outcomes. Carlos argues that the focus on development phases alone is insufficient, and product managers need to be involved in discovery and go-to-market activities to drive success. The podcast advocates for simpler, more integrated frameworks that empower product managers to lead strategy and lifecycle management effectively.

🧠 AI Integration for Product Teams

The podcast explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into product management practices. Carlos discusses how AI is enabling product teams to do more with less, leveraging technology to streamline tasks and enhance productivity. Specific use cases for AI in product management, such as synthesising user feedback, feature specification, and personalised experiences, are highlighted. Tools like AI-powered analytics platforms and automation tools are mentioned as essential for enhancing product development processes.

Actionable Learnings:

• PMs should strive to build products that not only delight users but also contribute directly to the company's bottom line. Collaborating closely with go-to-market teams can amplify these efforts.

• The elevation of product roles within corporate structures signals the importance of having a product-centric view at the executive level. For founders and PMs, advocating for and establishing a clear path for product leadership can significantly impact strategic decisions.

• Embracing AI not as a buzzword but as a fundamental tool for enhancing productivity, personalisation, and decision-making is essential. PMs must become adept at leveraging AI to streamline processes and deliver more personalized user experiences.

Want to know more quickly? Just ask the episode below👇️ 🤯 
or if you prefer, 🎥 Watch the full episode here 

📅 Timestamps:

• [00:02:16] Winners in the new era.

• [00:05:50] Product teams driving revenue growth.

• [00:11:00] The evolution of agile frameworks.

• [00:13:07] PMs driving product strategy.

• [00:18:32] AI in personalised experiences.

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Alastair & the Product Tapas Team 🍽️.