Building AI-First Products: Lessons from Microsoft on the Next Era of Productivity | Decoding AI Episode 10

The next big shift in AI isn’t about models getting smarter, it’s about how we work.

In this episode of Decoding AI, Aparna Chennapragada, Chief Product Officer for AI Experiences at Microsoft, shares how AI is transforming the workplace from tools that assist us to teammates that collaborate with us.

Aparna draws from over two decades of product building. From Akamai’s internet backbone to Google’s AI-first products, like Lens, and now leading Microsoft’s AI strategy. Her insights go beyond features and hype, focusing instead on what it takes to build AI products that last.

Here’s what we explore in this episode:

• Why “adding AI” isn’t enough and what “AI-first” really means
• How Microsoft is reimagining productivity for the AI era
• What happens when the model starts to “eat the product”
• Why trust, timing, and design are key to durable AI
• Where founders can find the next big opportunities in AI, from context engineering to workflow intelligence

If you’re a founder, builder, or product leader trying to understand where AI is headed next, this conversation is a roadmap.

Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
01:32 – Aparna’s journey: From Akamai to Google to Microsoft
05:20 – Lessons from building early AI products at Google
08:15 – Why the timing of AI adoption matters more than novelty
11:40 – The speed of AI change
15:05 – The shift from tools to teammates at Microsoft
19:30 – How AI is transforming productivity inside organisations
23:10 – The danger of “adding AI” vs. building AI-first
28:20 – What happens when the model eats the product
33:05 – Building moats: data, context, and trust
37:25 – AI products that last beyond hype
41:00 – Where founders can build next in AI
45:12 – Closing reflections

Follow SeedToScale on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seedtoscale/
Follow Anand Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ananddaniel/
Follow Aparna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparnacd/
Follow SeedToScale on X: https://x.com/Seed2Scale

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