The Product Manager Funeral. Or Its Rebirth?

A few weeks ago, someone in my network told me they had attended a "virtual funeral" for Product Managers. 

The comment stuck with me. 

Not because it was funny. Because I keep hearing versions of the same concern. 

As AI continues to evolve, many Product Managers are quietly asking themselves a difficult question. Will my role still exist in five years? 

It's not hard to understand why. 

AI can summarize customer interviews, analyze feedback, generate requirements, create user stories, build prototypes, and increasingly assist with many of the activities that once consumed a Product Manager's day. 

If artificial intelligence can perform so much of the work traditionally associated with Product Management, it raises an uncomfortable question. 

Is Product Management becoming obsolete? 

After speaking with founders, product leaders, and technology leaders, I believe we're asking the wrong question. 

Product Management is not dying. 

It's evolving. 

Product Management Was Never About Execution 

Somewhere along the way, many organizations began to define Product Management by its outputs rather than its outcomes. 

Roadmaps. Requirements. User stories. Sprint ceremonies. Status updates. 

These activities are important. They help teams align and execute. 

But they were never the true purpose of the role. 

The best Product Managers I've worked with were never defined by what they produced. 1

They were defined by the decisions they helped organizations make. 

They understood customers better than anyone else in the room. They identified opportunities others couldn't see. They challenged assumptions, influenced stakeholders, and made difficult trade-offs when resources were limited and priorities conflicted. 

Most importantly, they helped organizations decide what not to build. 

That responsibility doesn't disappear because AI becomes more capable. 

If anything, it becomes more important. 

AI Is Eliminating Activities, Not Accountability 

One observation from AI Transformation Consultant and Future of Work Advisor Vanessa Rementilla stood out. 

Organizations need to understand and redesign how work gets done before determining where AI can create meaningful value. 

— Vanessa Rementilla 

That distinction matters. 

Organizations are often focused on which activities AI can automate rather than which outcomes still require human ownership. 

AI can help generate requirements. It can accelerate research. It can summarize information and surface insights faster than ever before. 

But someone still needs to determine what problem is worth solving. 

Someone still needs to decide why it matters, what gets prioritized, what trade-offs are acceptable, and what success actually looks like. 

Those aren't executional tasks. 

They're leadership decisions. 

Many organizations are using AI to improve existing processes rather than reimagining entirely new ways of working. 

The same challenge exists within Product Management. 

As AI becomes more capable, the winners won't simply be the organizations that automate existing workflows. They'll be the organizations that rethink how products are built, how teams collaborate, and where human judgment creates the greatest value. 

The Future Product Leader 

The Product Managers who thrive in the future won't simply be experts in customer discovery and prioritization. 

They will need to understand how modern products are actually built. 

That includes a strong understanding of software development, web technologies, mobile platforms, APIs, data, automation, AI-enabled development tools, and increasingly, agentic systems. 

For years, Product Managers have acted as the bridge between business and technology. That bridge is becoming even more important. 

As development teams adopt AI coding assistants, autonomous agents, low-code platforms, and AI generated software, Product Leaders will need to understand what these technologies can do, where they create leverage, and where human oversight remains critical. 

The future Product Leader doesn't need to be an engineer. 

But they do need enough technical depth to lead conversations about web development, product architecture, AI capabilities, development velocity, customer impact, and emerging technologies. 

They will need to understand how engineering teams work in an AI-enabled environment. They will need to evaluate opportunities created by agentic development and understand the limitations and risks that come with it. 

Most importantly, they will need to translate technology possibilities into business outcomes. We've Seen This Movie Before.

Product Management isn't the first profession to face this moment. 

Designers experienced it. 

Marketers experienced it. 

Software developers are experiencing it today. 

Technology rarely eliminates entire professions. More often, it changes where value is created.

Execution becomes easier. 

Expectations rise. 

The work that remains becomes more strategic. 

That's exactly what appears to be happening within Product Management. 

The role is moving away from administration and toward leadership. 

Away from process management and toward business impact. 

Away from documenting decisions and toward making them. 

The Product Leaders Who Will Thrive 

The Product Leaders who thrive over the next decade may look very different from those of the past. They will spend less time managing artifacts and more time driving outcomes. 

They will need stronger business acumen, stronger customer empathy, stronger communication skills, and deeper technical literacy. 

They will need to understand AI, emerging technologies, and the evolving ways software is designed, built, and delivered. 

They will need to lead teams building products in environments where human developers increasingly collaborate with AI agents. 

Most importantly, they will need to connect customer needs, business strategy, technology capabilities, and organizational priorities. 

The future Product Leader may look less like a backlog manager and more like a mini general manager. A strategic leader capable of navigating both business complexity and technological change. Rebirth, Not Funeral.

I don't believe we're witnessing the death of Product Management. 

I believe we're witnessing its evolution. 

The backlog manager may be fading. 

The strategic product leader is becoming more valuable. 

As AI reshapes how products are built, organizations will need leaders who can connect customer insight, business strategy, technology, and execution. 

In many ways, the future Product Leader may have more influence than ever before. The funeral of Product Management may already be underway.