For the past six months, I have been deeply interested in AI programming. I have experimented with various tools and models. Whether in my professional work or my independent side projects, I have continuously used these projects to learn AI programming, exploring its best practices and functional boundaries.
For a long time, both my fellow programmers and I viewed AI programming tools merely as a means to improve development efficiency. The slogan “Use AI to increase your development efficiency by 10x” is everywhere. AI is a capability amplifier; it can multiply the output of an experienced programmer. As for ordinary people who don’t know how to code, they have no baseline capability to amplify.
However, a recent event changed my perspective. My view of AI programming has begun to shift from “efficiency enhancement” to “creativity enhancement.”
I Improved Communication Efficiency with My Product Manager by 300%
As a programmer, I naturally deal with product managers a lot in my work. The protagonist of this story is a product manager I collaborate with—let’s call her Emily.
Like many typical product managers, Emily doesn’t know how to code, but she is responsible for defining product requirements and features, telling the programmers what the product should look like.
In the usual development process, Emily often has to perform a tedious task: once she conceives a product feature in her mind, she needs to express it through wireframes (product screenshots + Photoshop + text descriptions) before handing them over to the UI designer for visual drafts. This communication process—whether through drawing, writing, or verbal exchange—is extremely time-consuming and laborious.
One day, I had an idea for a new product feature and wanted to discuss it with Emily. I faced the same hurdle: how to convey my thoughts to her clearly and accurately.
On a whim, I chose an AI programming tool to help me draw a prototype.
The tool is called v0. Those familiar with it know it is a tool for writing frontend code. I knew about it because I had used it in my independent projects. But this time, my goal wasn’t to write frontend code for a project, but to use frontend code to render a product prototype.
I entered a prompt describing the requirements into v0, and it quickly generated the first version of the visual. After making a few minor adjustments, I had a prototype ready and sent to Emily in just 20 minutes. When Emily saw the image, she instantly understood my idea.
I knew that without this visual, a verbal discussion between us would have taken at least an hour. Just like that, I boosted my work efficiency by 300%!
And all of this required nothing more than entering a few simple prompts.
The following video demonstrates the process of using v0 (actual company business information has been hidden; only the example workflow is shown):