Rishab Jolly, a 37-year-old senior program manager at Microsoft, has shared his comprehensive approach to integrating AI tools into both his professional and personal life, offering a blueprint for other professionals navigating the AI revolution. Since joining Microsoft in 2017 after completing his MBA in the US, Jolly has positioned himself as an early adopter of AI technology, leveraging it to enhance productivity and efficiency.
In his role at Microsoft, Jolly serves as the crucial link between engineering, marketing, and business teams, developing product ideas and features that enhance customer experience. AI has fundamentally transformed his workflow, particularly in time-consuming tasks like meeting note-taking and document drafting. Previously, Jolly manually compiled notes from numerous meetings to track action items. Now, AI-powered note-taking tools have freed up significant time for strategic thinking and prioritization—core responsibilities that require human judgment.
Jolly also uses AI to accelerate the creation of technical documents that provide clarity to engineering teams about goals and priorities. Rather than replacing his expertise, AI generates initial drafts that he then reviews, edits, and refines using his professional judgment and experience before sharing with teams.
Beyond his Microsoft role, Jolly experiments with various AI platforms including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini in his personal projects. In 2022, he launched “Curious Souls,” a podcast with his wife focusing on product management, AI, fitness, and other tech topics. AI has revolutionized his podcast workflow, enabling him to prompt LLMs to search Reddit for trending PM topics and generate preliminary scripts. He can even create audio clips of scripts to review while commuting to the gym.
Despite dedicating four to five hours weekly to the podcast, AI allows him to accomplish significantly more in that timeframe, spending more time on editing and refining content rather than initial research. However, Jolly emphasizes the importance of verifying AI outputs, noting instances where AI generated inaccurate information like placeholder links. This personal experimentation has sharpened his understanding of when to rely on automation versus human judgment at work.
Jolly’s advice to fellow PMs is clear: embrace AI now rather than fear it. He believes the core PM role—empathizing with customers and solving their problems—will remain unchanged, but AI proficiency will become an expected skill. He advocates for experimenting with AI on low-risk personal projects before applying techniques professionally.
Key Quotes
AI tools can help reduce the time spent on an initial draft. I then review, edit, and shape the AI-generated content myself, applying my judgment and experience before sharing the document with the team.
Jolly explains his approach to using AI for document creation at Microsoft, emphasizing that AI serves as a starting point rather than a complete solution. This quote illustrates the collaborative relationship between human expertise and AI capabilities that defines effective AI adoption.
It won’t replace us, but it will be an essential tool to make our lives easier.
Addressing common fears about AI replacing workers, Jolly offers a reassuring perspective on the future of product management roles. This statement reflects his belief that human judgment, empathy, and strategic thinking remain irreplaceable, even as AI becomes integral to daily workflows.
I found that it sometimes generated inaccurate outputs, like placeholder links that don’t actually exist, so I usually treat AI output as a starting point and make sure to check it.
Jolly shares a critical lesson from his personal AI experimentation with podcast scripts, highlighting the importance of verification and quality control. This insight demonstrates the mature, critical approach necessary for effective AI adoption.
My advice to PMs is to embrace AI and get your hands dirty by experimenting with it, not just in your job, but in daily life. There’s no way around it, and the sooner you start doing it, the faster you’ll see benefits.
Jolly’s direct advice to fellow product managers emphasizes urgency and hands-on learning. This quote encapsulates his philosophy that AI proficiency is becoming non-negotiable for professional success in technology roles.
Our Take
Jolly’s experience represents a microcosm of the broader AI transformation occurring across knowledge work. What’s particularly noteworthy is his strategic approach to AI adoption—using low-stakes personal projects as a testing ground before applying techniques professionally. This methodology offers a valuable template for risk-averse organizations and individuals.
The productivity gains he describes align with broader research showing AI can reduce time spent on routine tasks by 30-50%, but his emphasis on human oversight and judgment is equally important. The placeholder link example serves as a reminder that current AI systems, despite their impressive capabilities, still require human verification—a reality often overlooked in breathless AI coverage.
Perhaps most significant is Jolly’s framing of AI as an inevitable professional requirement rather than an optional enhancement. This perspective shift—from “should I learn AI?” to “how quickly can I become proficient?"—may define career trajectories in the coming years. His success at Microsoft while maintaining work-life balance through AI augmentation suggests that early adopters will gain compounding advantages in productivity, skill development, and career advancement.
Why This Matters
This story provides crucial insights into how AI is reshaping knowledge work at one of the world’s leading technology companies. Jolly’s experience demonstrates that AI adoption isn’t about replacement but augmentation—a critical distinction as professionals across industries grapple with AI anxiety. His dual approach of using AI at work and in personal projects offers a practical roadmap for upskilling in the AI era.
The article highlights an important trend: AI literacy is rapidly becoming a baseline expectation for professional roles, particularly in product management and technology sectors. Jolly’s emphasis on experimentation and understanding AI’s limitations reflects a mature approach to technology adoption that balances enthusiasm with critical thinking.
For businesses, this story underscores the productivity gains possible when employees are empowered to integrate AI tools into their workflows. The time savings Jolly describes—from automated note-taking to accelerated content drafting—translate directly to increased capacity for strategic, high-value work. As organizations invest billions in AI infrastructure, stories like Jolly’s demonstrate tangible ROI at the individual contributor level, suggesting that widespread AI adoption could fundamentally reshape workplace productivity and job satisfaction across the knowledge economy.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-pm-ai-easy-work-personal-life-2025-12