Product People turned AI from a Buzzword to a Playbook and Training for PMs

The Client: European Banking Unicorn

The client is Europe’s leading mobile-first bank, based in Berlin, renowned for its rapid growth and innovative approach to banking, serving over 8 million customers across 24 markets. Founded in 2013, it quickly disrupted the traditional banking sector with its user-friendly mobile banking solutions.

The company experienced exponential growth, amassing over 7 million customers across 25 markets by 2023. Key to its success was securing substantial investments, including a $300 million Series D funding round in 2019 and an additional $470 million in Series E in 2021, boosting its valuation to $9 billion.

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The Mission: Interim Product Manager Supporting AI Enablement

A cross‑functional AI Product team works with other Product Managers across the bank and has to close an AI skill and knowledge gap to streamline building products with AI safely. The mission focused on documenting the AI lifecycle for product development, explaining foundational AI concepts, and laying the foundation for upskilling Product Managers so they can judge where generative AI adds value in their product, when traditional machine learning is more appropriate, and when a deterministic software approach is sufficient. To make this practical beyond a written AI Playbook, we designed training formats that brought the guidance to life through real AI use cases already built inside the company.

In banking, AI implementation requires careful attention to compliance, security, and responsible use principles while maintaining high standards for customer experience.

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Laying the Groundwork: AI Playbook and Training Formats for PMs

Launch: Onboarded Very Fast

We quickly aligned with our Head of Product and Senior PM counterpart to understand existing initiatives and refine our planned deliverables. With an async-first communication approach, we established a weekly cadence supplemented by regular updates, allowing us to move rapidly into stakeholder interviews and content creation.

Explore and Conquer: Creating the AI Enablement Strategy

Problem: Teams had varying levels of AI literacy and implementation experience. Product Managers needed upskilling to build effective use cases, and there was no standardised approach to document key considerations for AI implementation, such as prompt engineering, data integration, and maintenance.

What we did:

• Conducted interviews with product managers across domains to identify AI literacy gaps and training needs.
• Conducted a Benchmark Analysis to research industry approaches to AI playbooks and training to validate our strategy.
• Created a comprehensive AI Playbook with best practices for responsible AI implementation.
• Developed an AI literacy competency framework to support skill development.
• Designed a multi-format learning approach, including an "AI at Work" livestream series and "AI Learning Circles" as a group format.

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Mini-Missions: Our Side Quests

• AI Terminology Documentation: Created a glossary of key AI terms to standardise understanding and language across teams.
• AI Initiative One-Pager: Created a standard intake template for the AI team so product managers can propose and scope new initiatives that require AI.

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Mission Achievements: Delivered Outcomes

Created a detailed AI playbook documenting the AI development lifecycle and foundational knowledge, providing product managers with clear paths to building with AI.

Developed comprehensive training formats with a 4-episode "AI at Work" livestream series and structured learning circles in smaller groups to upskill product managers across the organisation.

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