Hype vs. Shipped: What AI Really Changes in Product Work

Every product team is being asked the same question: what do we do about AI?

This evening brings two different takes from people who have actually shipped. One rebuilt his entire product org around AI. The other has spent eight years building AI products and argues the core of the job still holds.

Who is this for?

• The Rebuilder: product leaders rethinking how their teams are structured and how they ship
• The Sceptic: PMs being pushed to “add AI” and trying to work out what is real
• The Connector: anyone who wants an evening with the Zurich product community

The Talks
Rebuilding for AI: New Teams, New Process, New Norm

• By: Ivan leads product at Switzerland’s largest flexible staffing platform, Coople (30,000+ companies, 1,000,000+ workers), where he has spent the past year rebuilding product, design and engineering around AI-first ways of working. He also bootstraps AI-native SaaS products roadmappy.io, limeghost.com, jammyjar.com and marmiq.com.
• The Vibe: Over 12 months, Coople replaced squads, two week sprints and story points with AI first workflows and much smaller teams. An honest account of the decisions, the experiments that did not survive contact with reality, and the operating model running today.

AI Product Management: Demystifying the Hype

• By: Christoph Schönenberger spent eight years building data and AI products, from data science at Zühlke to product management at Migros and noimos.ai. Convinced that great AI products are first of all great products, he deliberately moved to B2C to be closer to end customers. He now leads App, Engage & Refer at Brack.Alltron, sharpening his discovery and UX skills with hundreds of thousands of users.
• The Vibe: Every second PM role now says AI, and most of what is written about them is marketing. Drawing on lessons from Zühlke, Migros and Noimos, Christoph shows what the job actually looks like: where AI earned its place, how simple analytics can beat sophisticated machine learning, and why the core of product management still stands.

What to expect

• Two 20 minute talks
• Open Q&A
• Drinks and networking with the Zurich product community

The Agenda
18:00 Doors
18:30 Talks
19:10 Q&A
19:30 Networking
21:00 Close

The details

• 📅 Monday 16 November 2026
• ⏰ 18:00 to 21:00
• 📍 SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, Thurgauerstrasse 36, 8050 Zürich

About our host
A huge thanks to SMG Swiss Marketplace Group for hosting us. SMG runs some of Switzerland’s best known digital marketplaces across real estate, automotive, general marketplaces and finance.
Spaces are limited due to venue capacity at SMG. Grab your spot.