AI can generate an infinite number of product ideas, lines of code, and experiments in mere minutes. This means execution is cheaper and faster than ever.

But when we focus too much on speed, we can easily forget one of the fundamental questions of product: Should this even be built in the first place?

Typical product workflows involve several layers of handoffs: PMs write the specs, designers create the mockups, and data analysts check in once the product is built to see if it worked as intended. There are clearly defined boundaries and reluctance to do something that isn’t “your job.”

How do you feel when someone asks you to meet a specific goal or metric? If it gives you a sense of dread or anxiety, you’re not alone. But what if someone asks you to solve a puzzle instead? It evokes a different feeling that sparks your creativity and curiosity. And it just sounds like a lot more fun!

You’ve spent years developing expertise as a product person. And now it suddenly feels like the ground is shifting beneath you—the theme from this year’s Product at Heart was “change,” after all! What was once familiar terrain is now a completely new landscape to navigate.

When you think of the impact of AI on product, it’s easy to focus on everything this technology makes possible, like faster prototyping, synthesis, or coding output. But as product people, we need to understand that AI products don’t work the same way typical SaaS products do economically. Getting more customers doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll make your company more money, but it’s very likely that it will lead to spending more.

Silicon Valley Product Group Partner Christian Idiodi brings us back to the fundamentals of product creation in his keynote, The Era of the Product Creator. He examines how AI is changing the economics of discovery and delivery—and the implications this has on the core competencies for product people.

Cyberpsychologist and Professor Elaine Kasket’s keynote weaves four principles from the Makers Manifesto along with real-life “death tech” products and case studies, asking us to evaluate whether death tech products may be too much of a “good thing.”

In March 2025, a serious injury caused Teresa to step back from her day-to-day work as a product coach and explore the potential of AI. In Teresa’s keynote, she takes us along on her journey and invites us to consider the implications her story might have for our own learning and exploration.

There’s one topic we simply can’t ignore right now, and that’s the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in our work. AI has the power to transform not just the products we build, but the way we go about building them.

In true Product at Heart fashion, this was a topic we wanted to approach with curiosity and practicality (and minimal hype). That’s why we invited speakers who could share their lived experiences with AI—what have they learned so far and how might this impact your own AI journey?

It’s easy to watch a keynote (maybe even one of the ones from Product at Heart?) and get inspired about concepts like the product operating model and other industry best practices. But knowing how to translate that inspiration into actual actionable tasks you and your team can carry out? That’s a lot harder!

If there’s one word that causes a lot of confusion in the product world, it’s strategy. Everyone agrees that it’s important. Most people say they have one. But if you scratch the surface, you find that not everyone can agree on what it actually means. And if you question a few PMs in your company, you might quickly realize that not everyone can clearly articulate what your specific product strategy is—or how their everyday work connects to it.