Aparna Chennapragada

Guest: Aparna Chennapragada - Chief Product Officer at Microsoft. Aparna oversees AI product strategy for Microsoft's productivity tools and agents. She has a rich background in product leadership, having served as CPO at Robinhood and VP at Google, working on projects like Google Lens and AI Assistant. Key Takeaways: Prototyping with AI: Aparna emphasizes the importance of prototyping with AI, stating, "If you're not prototyping and building to see what you want to build, I think you're doing it wrong." NLX is the New UX: Natural Language Interface (NLX) is crucial in designing AI interactions. It's about creating structured, conversational interfaces with elements like prompts and follow-ups. Future of Product Development: The time to first demo is shorter, but scaling takes longer. There's a need for editorial and taste-making roles to avoid creating Frankenstein products. Role of Product Managers: The PM role is evolving but remains crucial. While AI can handle some tasks, the need for taste-making and editorial oversight is more critical than ever. Three Inflection Points for Zero-to-One Products: Successful products often arise from a tech shift, a consumer behavior change, or a new business model. Topics Covered: AI prototyping, Natural Language Interface, product development changes, role of product managers, zero-to-one product framework, Microsoft AI strategy, GitHub Copilot, Excel's enduring success.