Rich Holmes
richeholmes.bsky.social
Rich Holmes
@richeholmes.bsky.social
I write about product, tech, AI and more for 48,000+ readers on my Substack: https://departmentofproduct.substack.com/

Ex PM: shutl, ebay, C4, fintech / banking.
Here’s a snapshot from that research:
May 17, 2025 at 11:37 AM
On first glance I thought maybe this was a little step too far in the Gen-Z direction that could alienate older users.

But Google’s product teams say the design system actually enabled older users to spot key interactive elements on the screen just as fast as younger users across 10 apps tested.
May 17, 2025 at 11:37 AM
In the latest Knowledge Series, I explore how AI Agent Payments work, including:

- A closer look at Visa, Mastercard and PayPal’s new AI agent payment capabilities
- Key technologies involved including tokenization, MCP and more
- Real world use cases and opportunities for product teams
May 5, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Plus, DuoLingo’s CEO jumps on the AI-first bandwagon with a memo published on LinkedIn that unveils how the company plans to implement its own AI policies (it’s not good news for contractors). And the latest release from Mastercard that takes the application of AI agents to the next level.
May 2, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Plus:

- the impact of AI on SaaS

- a new open-source alternative to ElevenLabs that sounds seriously impressive - with audio examples

- new tools you can use, including a new way to conduct user research and a browser plugin to stop you opening too many new tabs
April 28, 2025 at 1:38 PM
This is where AI models won’t rely on human data any more; instead, it will physically interact with the real world to generate new insights from the data it generates.

"Ultimately, experiential data will eclipse the scale and quality of human-generated data," Silver and Sutton write.
April 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Plus:

• A tool that describes itself as “What Apple Intelligence should have been”

• A new calendar product with a difference

• A slightly disturbing new AI product with noble intentions

and more…
April 22, 2025 at 3:35 PM
- A SaaS spend tracker to monitor your SaaS product subscriptions

- An appraisal / performance review feedback collector

- A note taker with a creative twist

- A Coffee Roulette tool to encourage colleagues to get to know one another and resolve conflict
April 22, 2025 at 3:33 PM