How to Choose the Right AI Tool for Product Management

There are many AI tools for product management – but which one actually fits your needs? This guide compares general AI tools like ChatGPT, workflow builders, and specialized tools like Rovo or Product Copilot to help you decide based on your workflow, product complexity, and team setup.

by Theresa Hennighausen

Choosing the Right AI Tool for Software Product Management

AI tools are everywhere, transforming how product teams operate. But with so many AI tools for software product management available, how do you know which one is right for you?

There are general-purpose AI tools, specialized workflow builders, or tailored product management tools – each with obvious advantages (and also some flaws). In this blog article, we will walk you through the pros and cons of various options. And we will be honest about when Product Copilot (our own AI tool for product teams) is a good fit – and when another one might be a better match.

Using General AI Tools for Product Management: Great for Flexibility, but Limited by Context

General AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude are powerful because you can use them for almost anything. They’re great at summarizing notes, drafting emails, brainstorming ideas, or even quickly generating user stories.

They are great for getting a feeling of how AI can support you in your product management tasks and a great option if you have varying tasks in many different tools.

But as soon as you start using them on a regular level for repeating tasks you notice: these tools don’t know your product, domain or your specific needs. You'll end up spending a lot of time explaining your context, and then copying, pasting, and reformatting content to match your company standards. If you're comfortable doing a bit of extra work to customize results, general AI tools could still be a solid choice.

Using Workflow Builders: Powerful if You Have Time to Set Up and Maintain Them

Tools like n8n and Zapier let you build customized automation workflows. Recently, they’ve become very popular. And to be fair: They're perfect if you have specific processes that you want to automate end-to-end.

However, keep in mind they need ongoing management. Setting up workflows, maintaining them, and dealing with troubleshooting takes time and technical know-how. After all, if you’re reading this, you’re probably looking for way to save time, not invest more. But if your team has the skills and resources to dedicate to setup and maintenance, workflow builders might be the way to go.

Specialized Product Management AI Tools: Ideal if You Have Repeating Tasks and Want to Save Time

Tools like Product Copilot and Rovo are built specifically for product management. They integrate directly into tools like Jira or Confluence, making tasks like writing issues, documentation, or cleaning your backlog easier and faster.

The trade-off is that these tools are less flexible outside product management tasks. But if you're deeply integrated into issue trackers and looking for something to boost your productivity there, this category is your best bet.

How to Choose the Right AI Tool for Your Team

Use the following questions to narrow down which AI tool fits your daily workflow and priorities best.

Where Do You Spend Most of Your Time?

Are you mostly talking to people, drafting emails, or brainstorming ideas on-the-go? General AI tools like ChatGPT will fit smoothly into your workflow.

But if you’re spending your day inside your issue tracker (let’s be honest, Jira or Confluence is your second home), integrated AI tools might save you a ton of unnecessary clicks and tab-switching.

We believe AI tools need to be easy to access, right where you already spend your time. Because let’s face it – humans are naturally lazy. If something isn’t directly within reach, we forget it’s even an option to use it. To really boost your productivity, you need an AI tool that’s immediately accessible, right where you work. If you have to consciously open another tab or switch apps, chances are you’ll rarely use it, no matter how useful it might be.

How Much Manual Work Can You Tolerate?

General AI tools are great if you mostly need AI for brainstorming or initial drafts. They’re flexible and quick, especially when you don’t mind a bit of manual copy and paste of the outcomes and formatting of the results afterwards. But when tasks become repetitive – like creating multiple tickets from PRDs or turning Epics into detailed user stories – integrated, specialized AI tools will save you a lot of frustration and time spent on copy-pasting and formatting.

Would a Direct Integration into Jira and Confluence Save You Time?

If your work revolves around Jira or Confluence, specialized AI tools like Product Copilot or Rovo can dramatically simplify your tasks. They integrate directly into these platforms, making backlog cleanup, ticket creation, and documentation smoother and quicker. Especially if you’re already spending hours deep in Jira, having AI integrated directly there will make you faster.

How Complex Is Your Product or Domain?

If your product covers commonly understood domains like consumer websites or standard applications, general AI tools can perform quite well.

However, if your product involves complex, niche, or specialized knowledge, general AI tools often fall short because they lack context and domain-specific knowledge. Of course, you can share the relevant knowledge with any AI tool. But if the information is constantly changing, highly detailed, or just too much to keep explaining every time, we tend to skip that and get results that lack precision. That’s where tools like Product Copilot come in – they understand your product context and can give you relevant, accurate results without the extra work.

Do You Want an AI That Just Follows Instructions – or One That Thinks Along?

General AI tools are excellent at executing exactly what you ask them. But we learned that most Product Owners and Product Managers don’t look for someone to drop tasks on – they want a smart colleague who thinks along and helps them to deal with edge cases and complex questions.

(As far as we know) Product Copilot is the only AI tool that has this focus: To be a pro-active Copilot that you can count on. Pointing out blind spots, suggesting improvements, and highlighting potential issues in your backlog or user stories. If proactive insights matter to you, find an AI tool that supports those.

What’s Your Budget?

It’s the topic everyone who builds an AI tool would rather tiptoe around – because let’s be honest: unless you’re OpenAI or Google, giving it away for free isn’t paying the bills. But if you’re the one using it, budget matters – and often determines the decision, especially if you plan to use it across your entire team.

General AI tools typically offer free versions, making them attractive for smaller or experimental setups. But surprisingly, when scaling to GDPR compliant team licenses, specialized AI solutions often offer better overall value for money, with tailored features designed specifically for your product management needs.

When Product Copilot Makes Sense (and When It Doesn't)

Let’s make it simple. We want to be honest: Product Copilot is not for everyone.

Don’t use Product Copilot if:

You just want to get a feel for what’s possible with AI. Tools like ChatGPT or Claude are great playgrounds – free and easy to explore. Check out our favorite prompts for product management tasks and try them with the AI tool of your choice. That said, if you already know AI can support your day-to-day work greatly, try Product Copilot to see how much further you can take it.
You don’t work with an issue tracker. If your product work lives mostly in Slack, PowerPoint, or your head, an integrated tool won’t bring you much benefit.
You enjoy building your own solutions and have the time and tech skills to build your own workflows. If you enjoy tinkering, tools like n8n or Zapier might also work for you – as long as you’re okay investing time in setup and a few hours for weekly maintenance.

Use Product Copilot if:

You spend a lot of time in Jira or Confluence. You work with backlogs, epics, user stories, requirement documents, release notes and all kinds of documentation – and you want to move faster without losing quality. You’re tired of copy-pasting and just want an AI that gets your context, speaks your language, and helps you catch things you’d otherwise miss.
You want more than a text generator. You want a smart assistant that thinks along and can handle edge cases. Product Copilot is built for structured product work and real outcomes – not for small talk.
You’re working in a domain that’s complex or fast-changing. There’s no time to constantly re-explain your context to a general-purpose AI. That’s when you should choose specialized AI tools. Product Copilot works like a colleague who already knows the background and actually takes work off your plate.

To sum it up: Just try something!

Look at the way you work. Figure out where you spend your time, how much manual effort you’re willing to accept, and how complex your product environment is. Then pick the tool that supports you best. Don’t overthink it, just try something – or everything.

Feel free to just try Product Copilot and see for yourself. We offer a 28-day free trial with access to all features. But start at your own risk: we are convinced that once you’ve used it, you won’t want to go back.