Product Talk Google Product Lead on Building AI Products That Actually Work
Dec 19, 2025
Alankar Agnihotri, a product leader at Google specializing in AI-driven in-car experiences, shares insights on building effective AI products. He debunks the myth that AI is magic, emphasizing the importance of context and data. Alankar illustrates how AI often augments expertise in fields like self-driving cars and healthcare. He discusses the shift to probabilistic design and the necessity of collaboration among teams. Lastly, he highlights the rewarding aspects of product work, particularly the impact on safety and small businesses.
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AI Isn’t Magic — It Needs Context
- People overestimate AI as a magical black box that always gives the right answer.
- Alankar Agnihotri stresses AI requires context, tuning, and data work to produce reliable results.
Start From User Pain, Not Tech
- Start product work from user pain points, not from available AI tech.
- Align AI capabilities to top user needs before building to avoid putting the cart before the horse.
Create Early Cross-Functional Checkpoints
- Build cross-functional checkpoints early: UX, engineers, data teams, leaders, and users.
- Track business implications like compute cost, latency, compliance, and ROI when choosing models.