
For our subsequent installment of our Girls in Product Administration Sequence, I interviewed Neha Bansal, Head of Product, Adverts Supervisor Reporting at Meta about AI in product administration and the way it’s reshaping promoting.
A Journey Rooted in Curiosity and Buyer Obsession
Neha Bansal’s path into product administration began not in tech, however in knowledge. Rising up in India, she pursued a level in economics and statistics, which led her to a consulting profession in analytics for monetary companies. However one thing was lacking.
“I cherished consulting, however I missed the enjoyment of execution—seeing my methods come to life.”
Decided to bridge that hole, Neha pursued an MBA at Columbia, the place an internship in Tel Aviv with Weisberger, an analytics firm, modified every thing. She was tasked with constructing advice engines, and in contrast to many others, she instinctively turned to clients for perception.
That’s when she met Noam, a product chief on the firm and now a VP at Slack. Noam instantly observed one thing totally different about Neha’s method.
“She advised me, ‘You’re the one one considering customer-first who’s not on the product crew.’ She took me below her wing, and we constructed and shipped the mannequin as a product.”
That hands-on expertise sealed the deal—Neha knew product administration was the place she belonged. She returned to enterprise college, upskilled herself, and landed a task at Google as a product supervisor. The remainder, as they are saying, is historical past.
The Evolution of Product Management
At this time, because the Head of Product for Adverts Supervisor Reporting at Meta, Neha thrives on the intersection of know-how, buyer expertise, and enterprise impression. Three issues drive her ardour for product management:
- Driving Business Innovation – AI is reworking consumer workflows, and he or she is shaping how advertisers leverage know-how to make their jobs simpler and extra impactful.
- Constructing Robust Groups – Mentoring and rising product managers is among the most rewarding elements of her job. Serving to others discover their place within the business is one thing she deeply values.
- Steady Studying – Product administration forces leaders to remain forward of the curve. Upskilling and evolving are important to staying related.
Making an Impression: Adverts, Small Companies, and Financial Progress
For Neha, the impression of her work isn’t simply measured in clicks and conversions—it’s measured in jobs created and companies grown.
- Whereas at Google, her work contributed to greater than $700 billion in financial exercise throughout American companies, nonprofits, and content material creators.
- At Meta, promoting applied sciences have pushed greater than $415 billion in financial impression, creating over 3.1 million jobs.
- Greater than 90 % of companies utilizing her crew’s merchandise are small companies, serving to them attain new clients and develop.
“We liberate time for these companies to allow them to concentrate on what they love. That’s what excites me—serving to companies succeed.”
How AI Is Reshaping Promoting
AI isn’t simply one other device within the adverts business—it’s basically altering how adverts are created, delivered, and skilled. Neha sees two main shifts.
For Advert Viewers
- Adverts have gotten non-intrusive, conversational, and customized. AI-powered model representatives are changing disruptive pop-ups.
- AI can create quick adverts from long-form content material, akin to podcasts, making manufacturing sooner and extra environment friendly.
- Hyper-personalization permits AI to regulate video adverts in real-time based mostly on a consumer’s journey historical past or language preferences.
For Advertisers
- AI is accelerating advert creation, serving to manufacturers generate, check, and optimize inventive property immediately.
- Dynamic inventive optimization is making adverts more practical by tailoring messaging on the fly.
- AI-powered fraud detection is bettering advert accuracy and guaranteeing budgets are spent on actual engagement.
“AI is making promoting extra environment friendly for companies and extra partaking for customers. The long run is all about relevance and utility.”
The Way forward for Product Administration in an AI-Pushed World
With AI altering the sport, product managers must rethink their position.
Right here’s what is going to set product managers aside within the AI period:
- Buyer-First Pondering – Understanding ache factors and seamlessly embedding AI into workflows is the place product managers will take advantage of impression.
- Knowledge Fluency – Product managers should know methods to course of massive knowledge units independently, with out ready on analysts.
- Strategic Adaptability – Conventional two- to three-year roadmaps are outdated. The perfect product managers will constantly iterate and evolve methods.
- Clear, Concise Writing – AI can assist with copy, however structuring a powerful technique in 5 pages or much less stays a key talent for product managers.
Neha additionally encourages girls in product to construct area experience—not simply generalist abilities.
“Hiring is shifting towards product managers with deep expertise of their area. Those that have constructed, failed, and discovered will at all times have an edge.”
The Way forward for Product Management in an AI-Pushed World
Neha’s journey highlights the facility of buyer obsession, adaptability, and strategic execution—all key traits of as we speak’s prime product leaders. Whether or not you’re shaping the way forward for AI-powered promoting, scaling a fast-growing product crew, or simply moving into your first management position, having the correct frameworks in place makes all of the distinction.
What’s been your greatest problem in navigating product management? Share your ideas within the feedback or join with us on LinkedIn.
March 12, 2025