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CPO Survey on AI in Product Management: Mandates, Missteps & the CPO’s Next Move

AI in product management has become the defining challenge for today’s product executives. Everyone, from board members to CEOs, expects their product teams to harness artificial intelligence for growth and efficiency. Yet most leaders are caught in a classic squeeze: the mandate is clear, but the playbook is missing. While executives broadcast a sense of urgency, the actual path to delivering measurable impact with AI remains uncertain.

Productboard surveyed 101 product leaders for insights into their biggest AI challenges and sense of readiness. This CPO Survey cuts through the noise and offers a data-driven look at how product organizations are adapting—or falling behind.

The AI Mandate Is Here

Product executives are facing unprecedented pressure to move quickly on AI initiatives. While the survey shows that over half (51%) of product leaders now cite AI as the top priority from their leadership team, the meaning of this mandate can vary dramatically from one organization to another. Some teams are expected to build more customer-facing AI features, while others are focused on incorporating generative AI into their internal workflows. This sense of urgency signals a clear change from just a few years ago, when leaders were mostly focused on execution (i.e., delivering features on time).

So it’s no surprise that nearly every respondent says their organization is experimenting with AI. In fact, 99% have begun embedding AI into internal workflows or their product organization’s standard operating procedures. However, there’s a gap between the headlines and reality. Most teams are still figuring out how to translate expectations into results. Only 8% describe AI as core to how they build and prioritize, while the majority remain in early-stage pilots or have embedded AI in select teams rather than across the board. 

The Missteps Holding Teams Back

Effective AI in product management isn’t just about launching a chatbot or prototyping a feature. It’s about building a foundation for long-term, business-critical impact.

The CPO Survey reveals where many product orgs are stumbling on the path to achieving this.

Lack of Enablement: Tool vs. Talent Gap

The first misstep: investing heavily in tools but not enough in talent. Over the next year, a whopping 85% of respondents plan to invest in AI/ML tools. Yet only 2% consider talent development their biggest focus. 

This disconnect risks creating a skill gap that even the best tools can’t bridge. Product teams might buy the latest AI solution, but without the right people and training, these investments rarely translate into business impact. The excitement around tools is justified, but sustainable success requires a more balanced approach. Successfully implementing AI for product management demands not just investment in software, but in people who can leverage it strategically.

Unclear Path to Maturity: Early Experimentation vs. Real AI Adoption

The second misstep is mistaking early-stage experimentation for true AI adoption. As previously mentioned, most product orgs are dabbling. Even among those already building AI-powered features, the commitment is limited. 57% of teams invest just a quarter of their resources in developing AI products.

This incremental approach makes sense in some industries, especially where regulation or data sensitivity is high. Product leaders, however, must recognize the difference between testing AI on the margins and embedding it as a driver of competitive advantage. Without a clear path to maturity, teams risk getting stuck in “pilot purgatory”—never realizing the full benefits of AI in product management.

Difficult Coordination: Alignment vs. Shifting Priorities

Alignment is another chronic pain point. The best strategy and the sharpest tools are wasted if product, engineering, go-to-market teams, and executives are out of sync. Shifting business priorities are the single biggest reason (76%) for misalignment.

This means that even the most capable product teams can struggle to turn strategy into results. Alignment isn’t a box to check. It’s an ongoing discipline that determines whether the AI mandate turns into momentum or stalls out.

What This Means for Product Executives

The CPO’s job is evolving well beyond feature delivery or roadmap management. Today’s leaders are being called to become architects of impact. This means designing cultures and systems that balance human insight with machine intelligence.

This transformation demands a new set of skills and perspectives. Success is no longer measured by how many features a team can ship or how quickly work moves through the pipeline. Instead, the focus is on delivering outcomes that truly matter to the business and its customers. Product leaders are being asked to bring clarity and strategic vision to ambiguous problems, to look beyond outputs and ensure that every initiative is tied to real value creation.

In this new environment, influence extends beyond the product organization. Effective CPOs are connecting strategy across functions, ensuring that product, engineering, go-to-market, and customer teams are aligned and moving toward shared goals. They are championing new approaches to decision-making and fostering a culture where experimentation with AI drives learning, not just activity.

Ultimately, the shift underway calls for product leadership that is grounded in purpose and focused on impact to steer the organization through rapid change.

Turning Mandates Into Impact

What sets high-performing product teams apart? The below AI tools and tips for product managers show what those leading the business with clear impact are doing.

1. Prioritize Stakeholder Alignment

58% of high-performing teams are fully aligned with stakeholders, compared to just 26% of all respondents. This deep alignment accelerates decision-making, sharpens priorities, and ensures resources flow to the most impactful work.

2. Invest Heavily in AI Skills and Integration

High performers do more than just buy tools; they embed it into their workflows. Among these teams, 27% say AI is core to how they build and prioritize, compared to only 8% overall. They’re also more likely to dedicate over half of their team’s investment to AI initiatives.

While investing so heavily in tools, it’s equally critical to build real organizational capability around AI. That means developing AI skills across roles, integrating these tools into daily workflows, and staying connected to customer needs. High performers can stay close to their customers with Productboard Pulse, an AI-powered solution that captures and analyzes customer insights at scale—helping teams automatically identify trends and communicate customer context in minutes.

3. Measure Outcomes, Not Just Outputs

The best product organizations define success in business terms. 79% of executives say their own performance is measured by revenue, for example. To keep teams focused on what matters most, report regularly on strategic initiatives, roadmap progress, and adoption metrics.

4. Embrace the New Role of Product Ops

As AI in product management becomes more complex, product ops serves as the bridge between strategic intent and technical execution. So it comes as little surprise that respondents want their product ops teams focused on planning, prioritization, and cross-functional coordination above all else.

Product ops must ensure that new methods, insights, and workflows become repeatable and scalable across the organization. They can begin standardizing their experimentation and decision-making by leveraging resources like AI prompt templates. This helps build consistency and drive adoption, all while accelerating the learning curve.

Next Steps for Product Leaders

There’s no shortcut to success with AI. Our 2025 CPO Survey highlights that while mandates and pressure are everywhere, the leaders who win are those who invest in talent, foster true alignment, and anchor everything in business outcomes. AI is only as valuable as your ability to deploy it strategically.

Ready for the complete playbook? The full report dives deeper, with industry benchmarks, insights from fellow product leaders, and actionable frameworks you won’t find anywhere else. 

Download the CPO Survey and take the next step toward turning your AI mandate into measurable business impact.

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