Why is this in your inbox? Because How I AI, hosted by Claire Vo, is part of the Lenny’s Podcast Network. Every Monday, we share a 30- to 45-minute episode with a new guest demoing a practical, impactful way they’ve learned to use AI in their work or life. No pontificating—just specific and actionable advice. Prefer to skip future episode drops? Unsubscribe from How I AI podcast notifications here.
Brought to you by:
GoFundMe Giving Funds—One account. Zero hassle.
Persona—Trusted identity verification for any use case
Priya Badger, a product manager at Yelp, shares her innovative approach to designing AI-powered products by starting with example conversations rather than traditional wireframes or PRDs. In this episode, she demonstrates how she uses Claude and Magic Patterns to prototype Yelp’s AI assistant features—from exploring conversation flows to designing user interfaces.
What you’ll learn:
1. How to use example conversations as your first “wireframe” when designing conversational AI products
2. A step-by-step workflow for using Claude to generate and refine sample conversations that guide your AI product development
3. Techniques for creating interactive prototypes with Claude Artifacts that use real LLM responses without complex API integrations
4. How to use Magic Patterns’ Inspiration mode to rapidly explore multiple UI variations for your AI features
5. Why starting with conversations and working backward to system prompts creates more natural AI interactions
6. How to apply these AI prototyping techniques to personal projects to build your AI product management skills
Where to find Priya Badger:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyamathewprofile/
Substack: https://almostmagic.substack.com/
Where to find Claire Vo:
ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/
Website: https://clairevo.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introduction to Priya
(02:54) The unique challenges of managing AI-powered products
(04:33) Using example conversations as a starting point for design
(05:53) Demo: Prompting Claude to generate sample conversations
(09:10) Prototyping advice
(09:53) Testing with multiple example images and scenarios
(15:03) Refining conversations based on qualitative assessment
(15:59) Demo: Creating interactive prototypes with Claude Artifacts
(21:22) Using Magic Patterns to design the user interface
(25:30) Exploring multiple design variations with Inspiration mode
(31:02) Quick summary
(33:35) How to apply these AI prototyping techniques to personal projects
(38:57) Final thoughts
Tools referenced:
• Claude: https://claude.ai/
• Magic Patterns: https://magicpatterns.com/
• Lovable: https://lovable.ai/
• Figma: https://www.figma.com/
• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/
Other references:
• How to build prototypes that actually look like your product | Colin Matthews (product leader, AI prototyping instructor at Maven): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-build-prototypes-that-actually
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
