About this episode
In this episode, Prerna Singh, CPTO at Avaaz, walks us through how AI is reshaping the way we prototype, learn and build digital products. Rather than replacing teams or skipping straight to production, she argues that AI shines when used as a “thought partner” to accelerate early?stage experimentation. Through her own journey building a community platform on weekends, she demonstrates how tools like ChatGPT, Lovable (and later Claude / Replet) and Figma AI enabled her to move from blank page to clickable prototype in hours — while retaining the human insight, iteration and context that underpin good product work. The conversation reframes common assumptions about “fast?AI = bypass human work,” and instead proposes a balanced adoption path: start in “sandbox mode,” learn and play — before graduating to “architect mode” where the real value to business begins.Chapters00:00 – Introduction & AI’s impact on product cycles01:43 – Meet Prerna Singh: her background in product and community building03:50 – The community problem: logistics over connection05:11 – Turning to AI to solve her own problem06:50 – What AI can’t do: user insight and human judgment08:08 – From waterfall to short-cycle prototyping10:54 – Using ChatGPT as a Socratic thought partner13:07 – Working solo vs team: where AI fits17:17 – From prompt to prototype: using Lovable19:06 – Iterating with Figma AI and other tools23:00 – Real feedback from real users25:02 – Creating a feedback knowledge base with AI26:16 – AI vs design sprints: same principles, new toolsOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery.
