AI fluency is the new digital literacy.

AI skills are showing up in job interviews. Here’s how to stay ahead of the curve.

Let’s make it real. Same company. Same role. Same tools.

But only one of these Canva product managers is getting promoted this year. 

Meet Emily: The Transformative PM

Emily doesn’t just use AI—she collaborates with it.

Here’s what she does in a typical sprint:

• Delegate: She feeds raw user research into Claude (or any other AI tooL) to extract themes, saving hours on manual synthesis.

• Describe: Her PRDs include embedded prompts—think “Here’s how we’ll use GPT-4 to personalize onboarding.”

• Discern: She reviews every AI-driven feature with a checklist: bias risk? fallback logic? human override?

• Diligence: She openly documents how AI shaped a deliverable—never passing it off blindly.
• Zapier would rate her as “Transformative”—she uses AI to deliver outcomes that were previously impossible.

Result? Faster launches. Cleaner feedback loops. A growing portfolio of AI-powered features.

Meet Alex: The Capable But Cautious PM

Alex is no slouch—but his AI habits? Underwhelming.

• He still writes PRDs from scratch.
• He manually synthesizes user research.
• He’s skeptical of AI-enhanced prototypes.
• He’s not experimenting or iterating with Claude, GPT-4, or any tool that could cut cycles.
• Zapier would tag him as “Capable”—but not adaptive. He uses ChatGPT occasionally, but doesn’t rethink his workflow with AI in mind. He’s not adding new leverage. And it shows.

Why This Matters

Zapier shook up the hiring world when it declared: AI fluency is now a requirement for every single role.

Not “a nice to have.” Not “just for engineers.” Everyone. 

They created a practical AI Fluency Ladder:

 Unacceptable →  Capable →  Adaptive →  Transformative.

Every candidate and employee is benchmarked on this scale.

Not just devs. Everyone.

This isn’t just about performance reviews. It’s about career survivability. 

Companies like Canva, Shopify, and Duolingo are baking AI into every product and process. If you’re not fluent, you’re a hurting yourself and your potential career growth. 

Here’s a peek from their internal rubric (Product example):

Tier	Product Manager Behavior
Unacceptable	Avoids AI, dismisses its value
Capable	Uses AI to draft PRDs and synthesize notes
Adaptive	Chooses models by cost, latency, ROI
Transformative	Leads AI-powered strategy & launches fine-tuned LLM features

(The below image is from Zapier's blog on: From AI-friendly to AI-first: How Zapier is transforming hiring and onboarding)

Where Do You Land?

Take a moment. Then answer honestly 

(I had to do the same, in all honesty. And I believe I sit somewhere between Capable and Adaptive.) 

• What’s one repetitive task I do weekly that AI could handle better?

• When did I last test a new AI feature or model?

• Do I know how AI tools I use work—or just hope they do?

• Have I ever redesigned a workflow because AI changed what’s possible?

• If I were in a job interview tomorrow, could I show AI fluency with real examples?

If your answers are shaky, you’re not alone—but you’re also not where you could be. 

Want to Level Up Fast?

Anthropic’s AI Fluency framework is a great place to start.  It centers on:

1. Delegation – Know what to give to AI and what to keep.

2. Description – Prompt clearly and intentionally.

3. Discernment – Don’t just accept outputs—analyze them.

4. Diligence – Own your AI usage ethically and transparently. 

Download Antropic's practical guide to understanding and applying AI fluency at work here. 

They also offer a free Introduction to AI Fluency course to learn to collaborate with AI systems effectively, efficiently, ethically, and safely. Click here to view the course.  It’s clear, useful, and doesn’t waste your time.

Cheers,
– Eli