CPO Rising Series: Thomson Reuters CPO on Leveraging Generative AI to Enhance Product Efficiency and Customer Value

How can product leaders leverage generative AI to enhance product efficiency and customer value? In this episode of the CPO Rising Series hosted by Products That Count Resident CPO Renee Niemi, Thomson Reuters CPO David Wong discusses how his team is leveraging generative AI to transform their products and better serve their customers. David shares insights on Thomson Reuters’ unique position to capitalize on the AI revolution, the significant efficiency gains they’ve achieved in areas like legal research and document analysis, and his strategic approach to balancing build, partner, and acquisition strategies for growth. Listeners will gain valuable perspectives on the evolving role of product management in the age of AI and how leading CPOs are adapting to this technological shift.

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Show Notes:

1. Thomson Reuters is transitioning from a publishing company to a technology company powered by its unique content and data.
2. The legal industry is poised to be significantly disrupted by generative AI, presenting a major opportunity for Thomson Reuters.
3. David Wong’s superpower as a CPO is his ability to “zoom in and zoom out” – connecting small-scale product issues to the broader business strategy.
4. Leveraging generative AI is helping Thomson Reuters’ customers (lawyers, accountants, etc.) save significant time on tasks like legal research and document analysis.
5. AI is improving the quality of outputs and helping non-experts work more effectively with legal professionals.
6. Thomson Reuters employs a pragmatic “build, buy, and partner” strategy for growth.
7. David believes the customer is “never wrong” – their feedback and observations are valuable.
8. Ensuring product managers have substantial customer interaction and exposure is a key priority for David’s team.
9. David encourages his team to challenge customer requests and provide alternative perspectives, rather than simply doing what the customer asks.
10. Generative AI has the potential to automate many administrative tasks for product managers.
11. David sees AI as an opportunity to improve meeting summarization, action item management, and low-fidelity prototyping for product teams.
12. Thomson Reuters’ business transformation during the pandemic laid the foundation for their current AI-driven initiatives.
13. David emphasizes the importance of systems thinking in developing products with virtuous cycles that enable sustainable growth.
14. Acquiring companies can help Thomson Reuters move faster and gain valuable intellectual property and knowledge in new areas.
15. David’s early experience at Nielsen taught him the importance of deeply understanding customer problems, not just following their requests.
16. Consolidating customer feedback and knowledge into centralized systems has been a key enabler for David’s team.
17. David believes product managers will be less impacted by AI tools initially, but sees significant opportunities to streamline administrative tasks.
18. The “art” of product management, such as problem-solving and prioritization, is unlikely to be replaced by AI anytime soon.
19. David is optimistic that AI will allow product managers to spend more time on intellectually stimulating aspects of their roles.
20. Rituals and processes that ensure product managers have substantial customer exposure are valuable.