How to Approach PM Interview Questions on Generative AI?

Generative AI (GenAI) is reshaping user-centered platforms with new possibilities in personalization, content moderation, and customer support. For product managers, understanding how to harness GenAI is essential—especially for platforms like Airbnb that require balanced solutions for user experience and business growth.

In product management interviews, you may be asked to strategize GenAI implementations for any product. How would you enhance the user experience? Which solutions would you prioritize for impact? How would you manage feasibility?

This edition walks you through a structured approach to these questions, using Airbnb as a case study to explore GenAI applications, use cases, and strategies. Whether prepping for an interview or sharpening your skills, this framework will help you craft thoughtful, impactful responses.

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Step 1: Clarify Scope and Context

1.1 Start with Clarifying Questions Before suggesting specific solutions, clarify the scope to ensure your response aligns with what the interviewer is looking for. This helps you narrow down whether they’re focused on user-facing improvements versus backend enhancements or if they’re looking for short-term vs. long-term solutions.

Example Clarifying Questions:

• "Is this GenAI solution focused on enhancing the user experience for guests, hosts, or both?"
• "Are we looking to optimize for specific outcomes like user engagement, customer service efficiency, or content moderation?"

These questions set a solid foundation to ensure your response targets the needs of Airbnb’s unique platform and user base.

Step 2: Understand the Different GenAI Applications

2.1 Overview of Key GenAI Applications Demonstrate familiarity with GenAI’s different capabilities and explain that knowing the right type of GenAI solution is essential to addressing Airbnb’s goals.

1. Foundation Modeling: Using transformer-based models to analyze data and generate predictive insights, which could be applied to improving search results and personalization.
2. Knowledge Management for Chatbots: Supporting user and host interactions through bots that respond to frequently asked questions and assist with booking, hosting, and navigating policies.
3. Content Synthesis: Creating and summarizing content from extensive data sources to help personalize listings, fill out property descriptions, or enhance customer experience through optimized search.
4. Agents: Enabling bots to perform specific actions, such as making changes to booking preferences, based on user interactions.

Each type of GenAI application serves different purposes. Explaining these categories and aligning them with Airbnb’s needs shows your readiness to approach solutions strategically.

Step 3: Identify Potential Use Cases and Expected Impact

When asked about using GenAI at Airbnb, consider both user-centric and business-focused use cases. Each use case should demonstrate a clear benefit for either enhancing user experience or achieving business goals.

3.1 Airbnb GenAI Use Cases and Impact

• Virtual Assistant for Guest and Host Support: Helps address common questions from both guests and hosts, reducing support loads and improving response times.
• Automated Profile Optimization: Guides users and hosts through setting up or updating profiles, which can improve the relevance of listings and recommendations.
• Enhanced Search and Personalization: Tailors search results to individual preferences and past bookings, making it easier for users to find relevant listings.
• Personalized Recommendations: Curates property suggestions based on user preferences and past interactions, boosting engagement and the likelihood of booking.
• Content Moderation for Reviews and Listings: Detects potential policy violations or irrelevant content in user reviews or property descriptions, maintaining platform quality.
• Fraud and Bot Detection: Helps identify and prevent fraudulent listings, bot-generated content, and fake reviews, protecting platform integrity.

Aligning these use cases with tangible outcomes demonstrates your ability to connect GenAI solutions to real-world impact at Airbnb.

Step 4: Evaluate Requirements for Each Use Case

For each use case, assess its requirements to understand the resources, data, and infrastructure needed. Addressing these aspects helps prioritize feasible solutions with clear, immediate benefits.

• Data: Determine the specific data inputs required for each GenAI application and whether Airbnb already has the necessary data or needs to acquire it.
• Governance: Consider data privacy, especially since Airbnb handles sensitive information. Ensure that AI-driven interactions comply with data protection regulations.
• Infrastructure: Assess whether Airbnb’s existing infrastructure can support these AI solutions or if additional investments are needed.
• Compute Costs: Estimate the processing power required for training and deploying these models to manage resources effectively.
• Implementation: Consider the time and resources needed for each use case, from development to launch.
• Monitoring: Plan ongoing performance monitoring to track metrics, accuracy, and ethical considerations.

Analyzing these requirements shows you’re thinking through the technical and operational factors critical to GenAI implementation.

Step 5: Prioritize Use Cases Based on Impact and Feasibility

After listing potential use cases, narrow down priorities by assessing their feasibility and impact. Consider factors like user reach, business impact, and resource requirements.

• Size of Affected Population: Which solutions impact the largest number of users or hosts?
• Business Impact: Will the solution enhance user engagement, reduce support costs, or increase booking rates?
• Complexity of Implementation: Assess which use cases have a favorable cost-benefit balance.
• Potential for Long-term Automation: Solutions that streamline repetitive tasks may have a greater ROI, especially over time.

By focusing on high-impact, feasible use cases, you demonstrate your ability to make data-driven, strategic prioritization decisions.

Step 6: Connect Use Cases to a Broader GenAI Strategy

Explain that GenAI initiatives should align with a clear strategy. Here’s an example of how Airbnb might set GenAI goals:

1. Power 80% of Property Searches with GenAI: Improving search relevance and increasing booking rates.
2. Generate 50% of Personalized Recommendations with GenAI: Delivering curated property suggestions for users.
3. Automate X% of Customer Support Interactions: Reducing support costs and response times.
4. Achieve Y% Reduction in Fraudulent Listings and Bot Activity: Enhancing trust and platform integrity.
5. Achieve Z% Improvement in Content Moderation: Ensuring listing quality and community standards.

A cohesive, measurable strategy ensures that resources are focused on high-impact objectives and allows Airbnb to compound learning and optimization in targeted areas. This alignment is essential for a long-term, sustainable AI strategy.

Final Tips for Structuring Your Response

Key Points to Emphasize in Your Answer:

• Start with clarifying questions to establish scope and objectives.
• Demonstrate knowledge of GenAI applications and their relevance to Airbnb’s needs.
• Present use cases with clear, user- and business-centered impacts.
• Analyze requirements and prioritization metrics to show strategic thinking.
• Connect with broader goals to ensure long-term cohesion and alignment.

By following this structured approach, you can demonstrate the critical thinking and strategic planning required to use GenAI effectively at Airbnb, showing interviewers you’re ready to make data-driven decisions that benefit both users and the business.

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