How Product Managers Can Stay Relevant in the AI Era with Aakash Gupta

AI is changing product management fast, but not every PM needs to panic, pivot, or chase the same role. In this episode of Fearless Career Moves, I sit down with Aakash Gupta, also known as the AIPM guy, to talk about what product managers actually need to do to stay relevant as AI changes the role. Aakash is a product and growth leader who has led teams at thredUP, Affirm, and Apollo.io, and he now writes Product Growth and AI by Aakash, hosts The Growth Podcast, and helps product managers break into AI PM. We get practical about what AI PM really means, why every PM needs to understand both AI productivity and AI feature building, and how to build credible AI experience even when your current product does not have AI work. Aakash breaks down courses, certificates, side projects, candidate market fit, niche positioning, LinkedIn strategy, and how to show proof in interviews instead of relying on polished talking points. Start watching and ask yourself where your next career move needs more strategy, more proof, and less panic. Watch the full episode of How Product Managers Can Stay Relevant in the AI Era. Key Points: 00:00 Cold open on how PMs can build AI experience without working on AI products directly 00:47 What AI PM means and why product managers need to use AI at work 02:06 Richa introduces Aakash Gupta and the AI PM focus of the episode 03:19 Using AI at work versus building AI features into the product 04:15 How PMs can build AI skills without direct product ownership 07:45 Courses, certificates, and AI side projects 09:35 Richa reframes AI upskilling as something PMs can start small 13:16 Deciding whether AI PM is the right next move 17:09 Richa on career ambition, season of life, and avoiding FOMO 18:27 Non-negotiable skills for senior PM roles 20:27 Why AI questions now show up in non-AI PM interviews 22:54 How to move up when internal promotion is blocked 26:49 Building inbound and using a pointy profile 29:23 Candidate market fit and niching down the smart way 32:36 Why LinkedIn positioning matters 35:12 How to optimize LinkedIn profile sections for recruiter visibility 42:14 Preparing for interview weaknesses before they come up 45:05 Reframing international experience as a strength 46:20 Proof over polish in PM interviews 49:32 Why now is a strong time to job search 50:54 Do not let the market control your career 51:22 Where to find Aakash's work 52:00 Closing CTA for reviews, subscriptions, sharing, and The Fearless Hire Aakash Gupta is a product and growth leader who has led growth and product work at thredUP, Affirm, and Apollo.io. He writes Product Growth, hosts The Growth Podcast, and runs Land a PM Job, a live cohort for product managers looking to break into AI PM and future-proof their careers. If you're a product manager ready to make that move, connect with him on LinkedIn or follow his newsletter at product-growth.com for practical advice on building AI skills and shipping real product value. Richa Bansal is the founder of Pinkcareers and host of the Fearless Career Moves Podcast. Through her signature program, The Fearless Hire, she helps ambitious women cut through the noise, clarify what they actually want, and step into high-impact leadership roles on their own terms. Website: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ LinkedIn (Richa):   / richabansal10   The Fearless Hire: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ Instagram (Richa):   / careersbyrichabansal   #FearlessCareerMoves #ProductManagement #AIProductManagement #WomenInTech #CareerGrowth