Hi Hitchhikers, I’m excited to share another interview from my podcast, this time with David Kossnick, Product Manager at Coda. Coda is a collaborative document tool combining the power of a document, spreadsheet, app, and database. Before diving into the interview, I have an update on Parcha, the AI startup I recently co-founded. We’re building AI Agents that supercharge fintech compliance and operations teams. Our agents can carry out manual workflows by using the same policies, procedures, and tools that humans use. We’re applying AI in real-world use-cases with real customers and we’re hiring an applied AI engineer and a founding designer to join our team. If you are interested in learning more, please email [email protected]. Also don’t forget to subscribe to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI: Now, onto the interview... Interview: Supercharging your team with Coda AI | David Kossnick I use Coda daily to organize my work, so I was thrilled to chat with David Kossnick, the PM leading Coda’s AI efforts. We discussed how Coda built AI capabilities into their product, and their vision for the future of AI in workspaces, and he gave me some practical tips on how to use AI to speed up my founder-led sales process. Here are the highlights: * The story behind Coda’s AI features: Coda started by allowing developers to build “packs” to integrate with their product. A developer created an OpenAI pack that became very popular, showing Coda the potential for AI. At a hackathon, Coda explored many AI ideas and invested in native AI capabilities. They started with GPT-3, building specific AI features, then gained more flexibility with ChatGPT. * Focusing on input and flexibility: Coda designed flexible AI to work in many contexts. They focused on providing good “input” to guide users. The AI understands a workspace’s data and connections. Coda wants AI to feel like another teammate—able to answer questions but needing to be taught. * Saving time and enabling impact: Coda sees AI enabling teams to spend less time on busywork and more time on impact. David demonstrated how Coda’s AI can summarize transcripts, categorize feedback, draft PRDs, take meeting notes, and personalize outreach. * Tips for developing AI products: Start with an open-ended prompt to see how people use it, then build specific features for valuable use cases. Expect models and capabilities to change. Focus on providing good "input" to guide users. Launching AI requires figuring out model strengths, setting proper expectations, and crafting the right UX. * How AI can improve team collaboration: David shared a practical example of how AI can help product teams share insights, summarize meetings and even kick-start spec writing. * Using AI for founder-led sales: David also helped me set up an AI-powered Coda template for managing my startup's sales process. The AI can help qualify leads and draft personalized outreach emails. * The future of AI in workspaces: David is excited about AI enabling smarter workspaces and reducing busywork. He sees AI agents as capable teammates that understand companies and workflows. Imagine asking a workspace about a project's status or what you missed on vacation and getting a perfect summary. * From alpha to beta: Coda’s AI just launched in beta with more templates and resources. You can try it for free here: http://coda.io/ai David’s insights on developing and launching AI products were really valuable. Coda built an innovative product, and I'm excited to see how their AI capabilities progress. Thanks for reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to AI! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Episode Links Coda’s new AI features are available in Beta starting today and you can check them out here: http://coda.io/ai. You can also check out the founder-led sales CRM I build using Coda here: Supercharging Founder-led Sales with AI Transcript HGAI: Coda AI w/ David Kossnick Intro David Kossnick: