How I AI

“PMs who use AI will replace those who don’t”: Google’s AI product lead on the new PM toolkit

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 *Brought to you by:* WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready today: https://workos.com?utm_source=lennys_howiai&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=q22025 Miro—The AI Innovation Workspace where teams discover, plan, and ship breakthrough products: http://miro.com/ *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 *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 *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 *Tools referenced:* • Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/ • ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/ • v0: https://v0.dev/ • Flow (Google Labs): https://labs.google/flow/about • Sora: https://openai.com/sora • NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google/ *Other references:* • AI Product Management Bootcamp: https://maven.com/lenny/ai-product-management • Lenny’s List on Maven: https://maven.com/lenny _Production and marketing by https://penname.co/._ _For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co._

MNMarily NikaguestCVClaire Vohost

Dec 1, 2025·40m·Watch on YouTube ↗

📖 CHAPTERS

1. 1
   0:00 – 2:54

   Why “AI-enhanced PM” is the new baseline (meet Marily Nika)

   Marily Nika introduces her background as an AI PM and frames the shift from being a PM for AI products to being a PM who uses AI in everyday work. Claire sets up the episode as a rapid, tool-driven walkthrough of a modern PM workflow—from discovery through stakeholder influence.

2. 2
   2:54 – 6:15

   The smart-fridge moment: a viral insight becomes a product wedge

   A surprising fridge notification (“items expiring soon”) becomes the spark for a full product exploration. The hosts use it as a concrete, consumer-focused example to demonstrate AI-powered PM techniques end-to-end.

3. 3
   6:15 – 11:19

   Ultra-fast user research with Perplexity: mining Reddit for real opinions

   Marily shows how Perplexity’s Reddit/discussions mode can replace days of early discovery with minutes of synthesized sentiment and threads. The goal is to extract adoption drivers, objections, and patterns directly from authentic user conversations.

4. 4
   11:19 – 13:40

   From feature list to PRD in ~90 seconds: a custom ChatGPT PRD generator

   Marily copies the debated feature set into a purpose-built “AI Product GPT” that outputs a structured PRD in her preferred template and voice. The PRD becomes a high-quality artifact for alignment and downstream prototyping.

5. 5
   13:40 – 16:20

   Interactive prototype with v0: turning the PRD into a clickable smart-fridge UI

   Marily pastes the full PRD into v0 and generates a dashboard-style interface for a smart fridge. The resulting UI includes both requested requirements and “guessed” helpful additions, making the concept tangible for stakeholders.

6. 6
   16:20 – 21:30

   Prototypes as influence: winning product reviews with something people can feel

   The prototype is positioned as a persuasive artifact for product reviews and cross-functional alignment. Instead of debating decks and docs, stakeholders can click, explore, and internalize the vision quickly—boosting credibility and decision speed.

7. 7
   21:30 – 30:17

   From prototype to pitch: generating promo videos with Flow (Veo) and Sora

   Marily extends the workflow into video generation to help stakeholders “see” the user story. They test Google Labs Flow/Veo and compare with OpenAI Sora, noting impressive quality alongside common generative quirks.

8. 8
   30:17 – 32:06

   The 15–20 minute end-to-end PM workflow (research → PRD → prototype → video)

   Claire recaps the full speed-run as a new “PM package” that can be produced in under 20 minutes: defensible insights, a structured PRD, a clickable prototype, and compelling visuals. Marily underscores the competitive shift: PMs who use AI outpace those who don’t.

9. 9
   32:06 – 37:38

   NotebookLM as an AI judge: scoring demo days with multi-audio analysis + hosts

   Marily shares a novel education/workflow use case: using NotebookLM to evaluate multiple startup/demo pitches by ingesting audio files and generating rankings and an announcer-style audio overview. The interactive “call-in” mode adds a fun, engaging layer for live events.

10. 10
    37:38

    When tools fail: reset, prompt with AI, and be radically specific

    In the lightning round, Marily explains how she handles poor generations (e.g., weird video artifacts). Her tactic is to stop wrestling with a broken thread, restart clean, and use AI to help write a longer, more precise prompt to reduce iterations.

11. 11

    Critical thinking hack: pro/contra agents debate to surface minimum viable features

    To counter LLM agreeableness, Marily prompts Perplexity to create two opposing agents and run a multi-round debate. The debate is then distilled into the minimum feature set needed to convince skeptics—an explicit path toward product-market fit.

12. 12

    Why better inputs win: PRDs as the scaffold for higher-quality prototyping

    Before prototyping, the hosts discuss experimentation and why jumping straight to UI prompts often increases rework. Investing in a solid PRD reduces iteration fatigue and produces more coherent prototypes.