Creating roles like "AI PM" or "database PM" is what author Marty Kagan calls "product theater." It gives the appearance of specialization but often creates artificial silos, fragments the product organization, and hinders holistic product thinking. Real competency comes from skills, not labels.

The "AI PM" title is a temporary distinction that will become redundant. The expert view is that within a few years, all products will have smart functionality. As a result, every Product Manager will de facto be an AI PM, and the specialized title will become obsolete, just like "Internet PM" did.

Instead of searching for new "AI" job titles, non-coders should focus on applying AI capabilities to traditional roles like marketing or sales. Companies are prioritizing existing positions but now require AI fluency, such as building custom GPTs or using AI assistants, as a core competency.

Companies are using AI hype as a justifiable narrative to cut headcount. These decisions are often driven by peer pressure and a desire to please shareholders, not by proven automation replacing specific tasks. AI has become a permission slip for layoffs that might have happened anyway.

Constantly rebranding to match the latest tech trend (e.g., Digital, Blockchain, AI) is a reactive career strategy. While it may offer short-term gains, it forces you to continually chase the next wave. Anchoring your identity in timeless product management fundamentals provides more long-term stability and growth.

Companies are paying a significant premium for candidates with "AI" in their title, creating a market incentive to rebrand. This financial driver encourages both job seekers and recruiters to focus on keyword matching rather than assessing fundamental product management skills, leading to a potential misallocation of talent.

The traditional PM function, which builds sequential, multi-month roadmaps based on customer feedback, is ill-suited for AI. With core capabilities evolving weekly, AI companies must embed research teams directly with customer-facing teams to stay agile, rendering the classic PM role ineffective.

AI won't replace product managers but will elevate their role. PMs will shift from executing tasks like financial forecasting to managing a team of specialized AI agents, forcing them to focus on high-level strategy and assumption-checking.

The dramatic increase in "AI PM" job listings isn't just about new roles. It's a marketing tactic. Companies use the "AI" label to attract top talent, and candidates adopt it to signal value and command higher salaries, creating a feedback loop.