Fractional AI product leadership
I'm Michelle Maislen. I help teams get AI out of the pilot and into the hands of real people.
Microsoft Teams · Microsoft Mesh · PowerPoint · Office 3D · Microsoft Account · Nordstrom.com
Where AI gets stuck
Demos are fast now. Getting people to rely on one takes the right problem, a design they trust, teams that agree, and a real rollout. That's the bridge I help you build.
Product development, end to end
My work
Millions of people
Copilot and AI agents were already in Teams, but people had to hunt for them. So I redesigned the meeting controls at the center of every meeting to put Copilot, Facilitator, Interpreter and AI notes one click away. People used AI more, ran into less friction, and told us they liked it.
Industry first
Meeting tools only noticed people who spoke out loud, so people who sign were easy to miss. As lead PM, I took sign language detection from idea to launch so signers get the spotlight too. It's now the foundation for crediting Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants correctly in captions, transcripts and AI summaries.
~200 people trained
When I started training colleagues on an AI agent pilot, I expected technical questions. What I got was nerves. So I skipped the architecture and showed one plain-English example: “Schedule a meeting with my manager at 10am tomorrow.” About 200 people later, teams were building their own workflows.
Enterprise first
Companies wanted employees in immersive meetings, but headsets didn't work with their work accounts. I led the device strategy that let people sign in to Meta Quest with Microsoft 365 and use PowerPoint, Word and Loop in 3D. Accenture used it to onboard all of its new employees.
$2M–$5M+ conversion lift
On a site this busy, small changes add up fast. I ran A/B tests on the header and navigation that lifted conversion across the whole site, launched an Android banner that tripled app downloads, and led site updates for a record-breaking Anniversary Sale.
Working together
“We have more AI ideas than time, and need to pick the one worth building.”
“We rolled out AI tools, but our team isn’t really using them.”
“We need a product leader now, but we can’t hire one yet.”
Questions I hear a lot
No. AI is where most teams need help right now, but I'm a product leader first. I've shipped collaboration tools, productivity apps, sign-in systems and eCommerce, and the same craft applies to all of them.
Yes. Most people start with a 4–6 week strategy sprint. If it's useful, we keep going. If not, you still leave with a roadmap and a working prototype.
Email me at mmaislen@gmail.com or message me on LinkedIn, and I'll tell you where my calendar stands.
Yes. I'm based in North Bend, Washington, near Seattle, and I work with teams anywhere. I'm happy to come on site for kickoffs in the Seattle area.
About
I'm a product leader in North Bend, Washington, just outside Seattle. I've spent my career shipping products at Microsoft and Nordstrom, and people come to me for the connective tissue: the right bets, simple experiences, teams that agree, and stories leadership says yes to.
When I'm not shipping products, you'll usually find me on a trail up Mount Si.
Let's talk
I'm always happy to talk through an AI idea, even if we never end up working together.
Or write to me directly at mmaislen@gmail.com