Episode 241: Mastering AI Strategy in Enterprise Teams with Maryam Ashoori

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Sep 3, 2025

Maryam Ashoori, Vice President of Product and Engineering at IBM WatsonX, discusses the evolving landscape of AI in product management. She unveils how AI is reshaping roles and emphasizes the collaboration between product managers and engineers. Maryam highlights the distinction between AI agents and generative AI, showcasing their problem-solving capabilities. She advises enterprises to adopt AI strategically, focusing on specific challenges rather than being distracted by trends, and stresses the importance of small-scale implementations for successful integration.

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INSIGHT

Start With Problem, Not Tech

Maryam centers product work on the problem first, not on the latest technology trend.
She evaluates whether AI truly fits the problem before choosing implementation approaches.

INSIGHT

Agents Add Planning And Actions

Agents combine reasoning/planning with action-taking to solve multi-step tasks.
That enables automation beyond single-turn generative replies, like summarizing and executing action items.

ANECDOTE

Customer Support Agent Example

Maryam describes a camera support agent that first checks internal manuals, then searches externally if needed.
The agent can call tools like database query or web search and present results for human validation.

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In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, Dr. Maryam Ashoori joins Melissa Perri to explore the transformative impact of AI on product management. Maryam shares her insights into how AI is reshaping roles within the industry, particularly the evolving relationship between product managers and engineers. With AI increasingly influencing design processes, she discusses the shift from traditional UI building to prompt definition. The conversation also delves into the distinct capabilities of AI agents compared to generative AI, highlighting their potential for reasoning and task automation.

Maryam provides valuable guidance for enterprises on adopting AI strategically, emphasizing the importance of focusing on specific problems rather than being swayed by emerging technologies. The episode also touches on the challenges large organizations face in integrating AI tools amidst rapid technological changes.

Curious about how AI can redefine your product management approach? Tune in to this episode for a deep dive into AI's role in transforming industry practices and discover actionable insights for leveraging AI within your organization.

You’ll hear us talk about:

05:45 - The Evolution of Product Management Roles with AI

Maryam discusses the increasing integration of AI in product management, emphasizing the shift towards focusing on building the right products, not just any products. She highlights how AI is changing the dynamics between product managers and engineers.

14:10 - Designers' New Role in the AI Era

The conversation shifts to how AI is impacting design roles, with designers moving away from traditional UI construction to defining prompts for AI. Maryam explains how this evolution is changing the design landscape.

22:30 - Strategic AI Adoption in Enterprises

Maryam shares her insights on how enterprises can successfully adopt AI by starting small with proof of concepts and scaling strategically. She emphasizes focusing on problem-solving rather than being distracted by the latest tech trends.

Episode resources:

Maryam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mashoori/

Watsonx.governance: https://www.ibm.com/products/watsonx-governance

Check out Monday dev: http://monday.com/dev

Check our courses: https://productinstitute.com/

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

02:43 Maryam's career journey

05:07 AI agents and their role in business

07:45 Capabilities and limitations of AI agents

16:07 Guardrails and practical use of AI in teams

24:21 Creativity, UI standardization, and product strategy

28:10 Enterprise AI adoption and building future-ready strategy

34:38 Emerging trends and opportunities for product leaders