This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Vivi Mengjie Xiao, an AI product manager and content creator on RedNote, China's social media platform. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. I'm an AI product manager in China, and earlier this year, my CEO asked me to explore how AI could go beyond cost-cutting, to drive innovation. Outside of work, I'm a content creator on RedNote, where I share AI tools, workflows, and insights with over 45,000 followers. I used to