# AI for Product Managers: Answers From the Code, Specs, and Prototypes

Source: https://maito.app/use-cases/product

Ask how your product really works in Slack, by email, or in Claude. Maito answers from the code, past decisions, and customer requests, writes specs with the edge cases, and builds prototypes.

Product managers and analysts ask Maito in Slack, by email, or in their AI assistant. It answers from the code, past decisions, and what customers said, writes the spec with the edge cases, and builds a prototype when you want to see it.

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$149/month per workspace · Unlimited people · AI usage billed by your provider

## Good specs need answers engineers don’t have time for.

How does it work today? Who asked for this? What did we decide last time? Each answer is a message to someone busy, and the spec waits.

80%

of product teams don’t involve engineers when they define the problem. [Atlassian State of Product 2026](https://www.mindtheproduct.com/inside-atlassians-state-of-product-2026-key-takeaways/)

84%

of product managers worry their product will fail. [Atlassian State of Product 2026](https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/product-discovery/resources/state-of-product-2026)

25%

of a team’s time goes into searching for answers. [Atlassian State of Teams 2025](https://www.atlassian.com/blog/state-of-teams-2025)

## From a question to a prototype, in one thread.

Follow one feature idea from the first question to something people can click.

1.  01
    
    Ask what you’d ask an engineer
    
    How it works, what it would take, who asked for it. In Slack, by email, or from your AI assistant.
    
    #product in SlackLeo’s ClaudeAna’s email
    
    ![Leo](https://maito.app/marketing-avatars/leo.webp)
    
    Leo October 14, 11:02 AM
    
    @Maito how many customers asked for invoice PDFs, and what would it take to add them?
    
    ![Leo](https://maito.app/marketing-avatars/leo.webp)
    
    Leo Claude
    
    /maito What breaks if we let customers download invoices as PDFs?
    
    Subject: Invoice PDFs for the roadmap review
    
    ![Ana](https://maito.app/marketing-avatars/ana.webp)
    
    Ana Email
    
    Can you pull together who’s asked for invoice PDFs and what it would take? I need it for Thursday’s roadmap review.
    
2.  02
    
    It answers from the code and the customers
    
    It counts the requests, reads the code, and checks what your team already decided.
    
    #product in Slack
    
    ![Maito](https://maito.app/maito-logo.svg)
    
    Maito October 14, 11:06 AM
    
    6 customers asked this month, including Acme twice. We already make PDFs for emailed receipts, so the invoice page can reuse that template. The page, billing permissions, and one help article need changes.Support inbox · Receipt template · Billing code · Help center
    
3.  03
    
    It writes the spec with the edge cases
    
    Refunds, currencies, permissions. The cases the code already handles end up in the spec.
    
    #product in Slack
    
    ![Leo](https://maito.app/marketing-avatars/leo.webp)
    
    Leo October 14, 11:10 AM
    
    Write the spec.
    
    ![Maito](https://maito.app/maito-logo.svg)
    
    Maito October 14, 11:14 AM
    
    Spec ready, with 3 edge cases from the code and your October 3 decision that only admins can download.**invoice-pdfs-spec.md** · 6 customer requests linked
    
4.  04
    
    See it working before anyone commits
    
    Ask for a prototype. It builds it on a branch and an engineer decides what ships.
    
    #product in Slack
    
    ![Leo](https://maito.app/marketing-avatars/leo.webp)
    
    Leo October 14, 11:20 AM
    
    Build a prototype so Nina can look at it.
    
    ![Maito](https://maito.app/maito-logo.svg)
    
    Maito October 14, 11:48 AM
    
    Done. Admins see a Download PDF button on each invoice, using the receipt template.**PR #318** · 4 files changed · 3 checks passed
    

## Specs that already know the edge cases.

Maito reads the code and your team’s decisions before it writes. The cases engineers would raise in review are in the spec from the start, each with its source.

Draftinvoice-pdfs-spec.md6 customer requests

What we’re building

A Download PDF button on the invoice page. It reuses the receipt template we already send by email.

Edge cases

-   Refunded invoices need a “Refunded” stamp.billing/invoice.ts already tracks refunds
-   Invoices in EUR and GBP use the customer’s currency format.receipts/template.tsx handles 3 currencies
-   Only admins can download.Decided by Leo in #product, October 3

Change it in the thread. The sources stay with it.

[Learn more about company knowledge](https://maito.app/product/company-knowledge)

## Research, feedback, and release notes too.

Writing specs is one part of the job. Hand it the rest of the week as well.

Says what a change would touch

“What happens if we change this?” answered from the code, before planning starts.

Sums up customer feedback

Requests and complaints from support, counted and grouped with real examples.

Researches competitors

It reads their public sites and docs and brings back sources, not opinions.

Drafts release notes

From what actually merged, in words customers understand.

Answers sales questions

“Do we support SSO on the Pro plan?” answered from the code and pricing rules.

Sends the weekly update

Shipped, in progress, blocked. Every Friday, as a Loop, in Slack or by email.

## Product, engineering, and support on the same page.

Engineers keep their focus

Product questions get answered from the code without pulling anyone into a call.

Support brings the evidence

What customers asked for arrives with names and counts, not anecdotes.

Prototypes skip the queue

An idea becomes something people can click before it’s on the roadmap.

Decisions stay found

What the team decided in a thread is there the next time anyone asks.

## You decide what gets built.

Maito does the digging and the drafting. Your team makes the calls, and it remembers them.

Prototypes stay on a branch

Nothing reaches customers until an engineer reviews it and merges it.

Every claim has a source

Code, tickets, and decisions are linked, so anyone can check the answer.

Decisions are remembered

Say it once in a shared thread. Later specs and answers use it.

You can change your mind

Update a decision and the earlier version stays in the history.

Company knowledgeInvoice downloads

-   October 3 · Leo in #product · Current
    
    Only admins can download invoices.
    
-   August 12 · Nina in #billing
    
    Anyone on the account can download.
    

Every later answer, spec, and pull request uses the current version.

## Frequently asked questions.

### I don’t code. Can I still ask about the code?

Yes. Ask in plain words, like “what happens if a customer downgrades mid-month?” Maito reads the code and answers in plain words, with links an engineer can check.

### Will it build things nobody asked for?

No. It only builds when someone asks, on its own branch. An engineer reviews the pull request and decides whether it ships.

### Where does customer feedback come from?

From the tools you connect, like your support inbox, Intercom, or HubSpot, and from your team’s Slack threads. It only reads what you’ve connected.

### Does it replace our roadmap tool?

No. Keep Linear, Jira, or Notion. Maito does the research and writing, and you put the result wherever your team plans.

### What does it cost?

$149 per workspace per month, for your whole team. Prototypes run on their own cloud machines, paid from the $20 in cloud credits included every month. Your AI provider bills model usage separately.

## Put your AI teammate to work.

Set it up in minutes. Ask it the question you’ve been saving for an engineer.

[Put Maito to work](https://maito.app/login?returnTo=%2F)[Book a demo](mailto:support@maito.app?subject=Maito%20demo)
