Aakash Gupta

We Ranked Every AI Tool for Product Managers — So You Don’t Have To

Anshumanni Rudra, Group Product Manager at Google (APAC Payments), ranks 70+ AI tools tier-list style. He reveals his essential 4-tool stack, demonstrates how he runs 6 Claude Code windows simultaneously, and shares the exact methodology for choosing AI tools that actually improve productivity. Full Writeup: https://www.news.aakashg.com/p/anshumanni-rudra-podcast Transcript: https://www.aakashg.com/the-ultimate-ai-tools-tier-list-70-tools-ranked-by-a-google-pm/ ---- Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:26 - Introduction & Episode Setup 2:01 - AI Agents Tier Ranking (N8N, Lindy, Airtable, Relay) 7:28 - AI Prototyping Tools (Lovable, Bolt, v0, Magic Patterns) 15:54 - Ads (Miro, Vanta) 18:05 - Replit Agent Crowned Best Prototyping Tool 26:24 - Big LLMs Discussion Begins 29:26 - Ads (Testkube, Kameleoon, Dovetail) 44:55 - Discovery & Research Tools Discussion 45:00 - Customer Intelligence (Unwrap, Interpret, Dovetail) 48:17 - AI Browsers (Comet, DIA) 50:44 - Road Mapping Tools 54:15 - Documents Tools 58:01 - Meeting Tools: Granola Takes S-Tier 59:43 - Dictation Tools 1:01:03 - AI Video Tools 1:01:52 - AI Design Tools 1:03:05 - The #1 AI Tool for PMs Revealed 1:03:42 - How to Build Your AI Tool Roadmap 1:04:24 - Outro & Newsletter GiveawayRetry ---- 🏆 Thanks to our sponsors: 1. Miro: The innovation workspace - https://miro.com/innovation-workspace/?irclickid=yIg1Kj2P2xycUXeyopwbUQf0UkpwPezrCXtgyg0&irgwc=1 2. Vanta: Leading AI security & compliance platform - http://vanta.com/aakash 3. Testkube: Leading test orchestration platform - http://testkube.io/ 4. Kameleoon: Leading AI experimentation platform - http://www.kameleoon.com/ 5. Dovetail: Leading AI customer intelligence platform - https://dovetail.com/ ---- Key takeaways: 1. Claude Code is the absolute best AI tool for PMs - Anshumanni runs 6 terminal windows simultaneously doing different things on different parts of his directory. It understands your entire codebase and lets you go from idea to working code in minutes. 2. superwhisper is the S-tier dictation tool that has Anshumanni shouting debugging commands at his screen like Tony Stark. His typing speed has actually fallen since he started dictating everything, making typing feel obsolete. 3. Lindy.AI is the S-tier agent builder PMs actually want because you can prompt it with natural language instead of building flows. Create email responders, meeting prep assistants, and podcast-to-blog converters without touching code. 4. Replit is the ultimate AI prototyping champion that can plan and work for hours building complete applications with minimal guidance. Even before AI, Replit was a strong web-based IDE with deep developer understanding that shows. 5. Granola is the S-tier meeting tool that learns your style and auto-generates talking points based on previous conversations. Unlike Otter or Fireflies, it has intelligent context awareness like a personal assistant. 6. Perplexity gets C-tier as Anshumanni's usage has "gone down quite drastically" since the early days. AI mode in other tools now does what Perplexity used to do with deep search rabbit holes. 7. Cursor gets A-tier as the only IDE with the agent on the right side of the screen, which matters for how PMs think. Anshumanni's usage is "way higher" than other tools purely because of this UX choice. 8. Bolt is Anshumanni's pick for best AI prototyping in A-tier with the best structure from the start. It thinks about both front-end and back-end by default, letting you go from prompt to deployed app in minutes. 9. GitHub Copilot is the first D-tier tool because it's "just not as good" - very ChatGPT focused, not enough Claude. Developers are leaving for Cursor and Claude Code for a reason. 10. Don't chase shiny tools - analyze how you spend your week, find what takes the most time, then find the specific tool that solves that problem. Pick tools for your workflow, experiment, then measure if they improve productivity. ---- 👨‍💻 Where to find Anshumanni Rudra: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anshumani/?originalSubdomain=sg 👨‍💻 Where to find Aakash: Twitter: twitter.com/aakashg0 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aagupta/ Newsletter: news.aakashg.com #aitools #aipm ---- 🧠 About Product Growth: The world's largest podcast focused solely on product + growth, with over 195K+ listeners. 🔔 Subscribe and turn on notifications to get more videos like this.

AGAakash GuptahostARAnshumanni Rudraguest

Oct 27, 2025·1h 5m·Watch on YouTube ↗

📖 CHAPTERS

1. 1

   Tier-ranking the 2025 AI stack for product managers (rules + guest context)

   Aakash Gupta sets up a tier-ranking episode focused on AI tools that matter for product managers in 2025. He introduces guest Anshumanni Rudra (ex-VP Product Hotstar, now GPM at Google APAC Payments) and frames the goal: pick practical winners across categories, not just hype.

2. 2

   AI agent builders: automation power vs. usability (n8n, Make, Lindy, Airtable, Relay)

   They compare popular agent/automation builders, weighing flexibility against technical barriers. Lindy emerges as the best PM-friendly agent builder due to its promptable, AI-assisted approach, while more technical tools are graded lower for typical PM use.

3. 3

   AI prototyping tools: speed, backend realism, and “everything looks the same” (Lovable, Bolt, Magic Patterns, v0, base44)

   They assess AI prototyping tools for turning ideas into usable demos, debating front-end polish, backend capability, and reliability. Bolt, v0, and base44 lead the pack, while Lovable and Magic Patterns are seen as useful but limited for certain workflows.

4. 4

   Who wins prototyping? Bolt vs v0—and why reliability matters

   Aakash and Anshumanni pick different winners among the top A-tier prototyping tools. The debate centers on structure and backend planning (Bolt) versus fewer errors and smoother iteration (v0).

5. 5

   Replit Agent takes the crown for end-to-end building (and multi-agent workflow)

   They elevate Replit as the best web-based environment for building full products quickly, especially for PMs who want a plan before code. Replit’s multi-agent capability and deployment strengths push it to the top tier for prototyping/vibe coding.

6. 6

   Vibe coding IDEs & coding agents: Claude Code dominates (Windsurf, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, GitHub Copilot)

   The conversation shifts to coding agents and AI IDE workflows, where Claude Code becomes the clear standout. They compare usability, agent “taste,” and developer migration away from older incumbents like GitHub Copilot.

7. 7

   Big LLMs for PM work: diminishing returns and what’s actually useful

   They evaluate general LLMs through a PM productivity lens, emphasizing that model improvements now feel marginal for many workflows. The discussion highlights deep research as useful but increasingly commoditized across providers.

8. 8

   LLM rankings: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Grok, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Manus

   They assign tiers to major LLM products and agentic research tools, with Claude leading for PM use. Manus stands out for running multiple parallel deep-research threads and scheduled tasks, while Grok and Microsoft Copilot are viewed as weak options for PMs.

9. 9

   AI experimentation & analytics: ‘vibe experimentation’ is coming (Amplitude, Kameleoon, Optimizely, Statsig)

   They explore AI-assisted experimentation tools that can propose tests, create variants, and analyze outcomes. The category is promising but still maturing, with Kameleoon leading among the tools discussed.

10. 10

    Discovery & customer intelligence: turning feedback into roadmap signals (Unwrap, Interpret, Dovetail)

    They rank tools that aggregate and synthesize customer feedback across channels to recommend features and quantify impact. Interpret is positioned as the strongest, especially for B2B SaaS and revenue/ARR-oriented insights.

11. 11

    AI browsers: ‘ask vs do’ and why most aren’t there yet (Comet, DIA)

    They evaluate AI-first browsers as general-purpose agents that should execute tasks, not just answer questions. DIA is preferred for cross-tab chat and contextual writing/learning, while Comet is seen as underdeveloped for the promise of AI browsing.

12. 12

    Roadmapping platforms: modest AI so far (Jira Product Discovery, Pendo, Productboard)

    They rate roadmapping tools on how well AI connects customer insights to prioritization and execution. Productboard stands out as the best-developed AI roadmap assistant among the options discussed.

13. 13

    Docs, meetings, dictation, video, and design: where PM leverage really is

    They speed-rank productivity categories where PMs spend time: writing, meetings, dictation, and lightweight media/design. Granola and dictation tools stand out as high-leverage, while many marketing-oriented content tools are deprioritized for PMs.

14. 14

    The #1 AI tool for PMs + building your personal AI tool roadmap

    They crown Claude Code as the single best AI tool for product managers, then outline an approach for choosing tools based on where time is spent and which workflows need leverage. The episode ends with a practical recommendation to experiment intentionally and iterate based on impact.