Product managers have emerged as one of the most powerful yet controversial roles in Silicon Valley, serving as bridges between engineers, salespeople, and other departments while earning average salaries of $160,000—more than software engineers’ $147,000. Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and YouTube are all led by former product managers including Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, and Neal Mohan, who now deploy legions of PMs across their organizations.
The role barely existed before the 2000s but exploded during the “golden era” of the 2010s when zero interest rates led companies to gobble up talent. Carnegie Mellon launched the first master’s degree in product management in 2018, and by 2019, U.S. News ranked it a top-five job for MBA graduates. A 2020 McKinsey report identified creating comprehensive product-management functions as one of the four most critical factors for growing software businesses faster.
However, tension between product managers and engineers has intensified. Engineers frequently complain on forums like Blind and Reddit that PMs are useless, don’t understand coding, and “just attend meetings” while getting paid more. Some describe them as “stealing a living” and claim they could easily do both jobs. The friction stems from power dynamics—product managers gained authority to override engineering decisions, leading technical teams to feel their expertise is being questioned by non-technical outsiders.
Several major companies are now reconsidering the role entirely. Airbnb combined product management with product marketing last year, with co-founder Brian Chesky embracing “founder mode” decision-making. Snap laid off 20 product managers to speed up decision-making. Smaller startups question whether they need PMs at all.
But artificial intelligence could dramatically shift this dynamic. As AI becomes more capable at coding—Google’s Pichai revealed that over 25% of the company’s new code is now AI-generated—some predict engineering tasks will become redundant while product managers’ strategic role expands. Frank Fusco, a PM-turned-CEO, argues that determining what customers actually want from AI technology is a classic product-manager problem. With investors hungry for AI and consumers skeptical, he predicts “the revenge of the PMs is coming,” expecting them to become more prestigious and empowered as they bridge the gap between AI capabilities and market needs.
Key Quotes
The future really does belong to product managers. As artificial intelligence gets more adept at coding, some engineering tasks could become redundant — and that could be a boon for product managers.
Frank Fusco, a product manager turned CEO of Silicon Society, explains how AI’s coding capabilities could elevate the strategic importance of product managers who focus on understanding customer needs rather than technical implementation.
More than a quarter of Google’s new code was created by AI.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, himself a former product manager, revealed this statistic last month, demonstrating how rapidly AI is already transforming software development and potentially validating predictions about the changing value of different tech roles.
The revenge of the PMs is coming. I would expect to see PMs becoming more prestigious and empowered.
Frank Fusco predicts that as AI handles more coding tasks, product managers who can bridge the gap between AI capabilities and actual customer needs will become increasingly valuable, potentially reversing current skepticism about their role.
The shift in power moved from engineering to product managers.
Hubert Palan, CEO of Productboard, describes the fundamental power dynamic that has created friction in tech companies, as product managers gained authority to override engineering decisions during the role’s expansion in the 2010s.
Our Take
This article captures a fascinating paradox: just as product managers face their greatest existential threat from layoffs and “founder mode” skepticism, AI may actually vindicate their role’s importance. The statistic that 25% of Google’s code is AI-generated isn’t just impressive—it’s a harbinger of massive disruption to traditional engineering hierarchies.
The real insight here is that AI doesn’t eliminate the need for human judgment; it shifts where that judgment matters most. If AI can write code, the critical question becomes what to build, not how to build it. That’s precisely the product manager’s domain. However, this could intensify rather than resolve tensions—engineers may resist the implication that their skills are becoming commoditized while non-technical roles gain influence. The gender dynamics add another layer, potentially making this transition even more contentious. The next few years will reveal whether AI democratizes tech or simply creates new hierarchies.
Why This Matters
This story reveals a critical inflection point for tech industry roles as AI transforms software development. The tension between product managers and engineers reflects deeper questions about value creation in technology companies—who decides what gets built, and does technical expertise trump market understanding?
The revelation that over 25% of Google’s code is now AI-generated signals an accelerating shift that could fundamentally reshape tech hierarchies. If AI can handle routine coding tasks, the balance of power may swing further toward those who understand customer needs and business strategy over pure technical implementation. This has profound implications for career paths, education, and hiring in the tech sector.
The debate also highlights gender dynamics in tech, with women comprising 35% of product managers versus just 22% of overall tech workers. As AI potentially reduces the premium on coding skills, roles emphasizing empathy, communication, and strategic thinking—areas where product managers excel—may gain prominence. This could either democratize tech careers or intensify existing tensions between technical and non-technical roles, making this a pivotal moment for the industry’s future structure.
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