When tools fail: kill instance and use AI to craft prompts

Marily Nika, AI Product Lead at Google and founder of the AI Product Academy, demonstrates how product managers can leverage AI tools to dramatically accelerate their workflow. Using a smart-fridge concept as an example, Marily walks us through the exact workflow she uses to build products faster: doing user research with Reddit debates, generating PRDs with custom GPTs, prototyping with v0, and even creating stakeholder-ready video mockups using VEO and Sora. She shows how “tool hopping” between specialized AI applications creates a powerful workflow that transforms traditional PM processes and enables more compelling product storytelling.

What you’ll learn:

1. How to use Perplexity’s “discussions and opinions” filter to mine Reddit for user insights and create pro/con agent debates that reveal product-market fit requirements
2. A workflow for transforming market research into comprehensive PRDs using custom GPTs that maintain your personal voice and style
3. Techniques for turning PRDs into interactive prototypes using v0.dev that make your product vision tangible for stakeholders
4. How to create persuasive product videos using Flow and Sora that communicate your vision more effectively than traditional presentations
5. Why “tool hopping” between specialized AI applications creates a more powerful workflow than using a single tool
6. How to use NotebookLM as an interactive judge for product demos and pitch competitions

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Brought to you by:

WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready today

Miro—The AI Innovation Workspace where teams discover, plan, and ship breakthrough products

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Where to find Marily Nika:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynika/

Website: https://www.marilynika.me/

Substack: https://marily.substack.com/

AI Product Management Bootcamp & Certification by AI Product Academy: https://bit.ly/4p8tn2r

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Where to find Claire Vo:

ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/

Website: https://clairevo.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/

X: https://x.com/clairevo

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction to Marily Nika

(02:54) Smart-fridge use case inspiration

(06:15) Using Perplexity to mine Reddit for user research

(11:19) Creating a comprehensive PRD with ChatGPT

(13:40) Building an interactive prototype with v0

(16:20) Using prototypes as stakeholder influence tools in product reviews

(21:30) Generating product videos with Flow and Sora

(30:17) The complete 20-minute product workflow, from research to video

(32:06) Using NotebookLM as an AI judge for product demo days

(37:38) What to do when AI tools aren’t giving you what you want

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Tools referenced:

• Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/

• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/

• v0.dev: https://v0.dev/

• Flow (Google Labs): https://labs.google/flow/about

• Sora: https://openai.com/sora

• NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google/

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Other references:

• AI Product Management Bootcamp: https://maven.com/lenny/ai-product-management

• Lenny’s List on Maven: https://maven.com/lenny

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.