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How has AI adoption has evolved over the past year, and how is AI transforming UX and Product Design right now? In this year’s State of AI in UX and Product Design live panel, we unpacked fresh insights from Designlab’s latest industry survey—based on responses from over 200 UX and product designers across startups and enterprises. The latest data reflects how designers are using AI today, what’s changed since last year's survey, and what concerns are emerging as adoption accelerates.
If last year was about experimentation, this year’s conversation centered on integration, curation, quality, and leadership.
Prefer to read? Here’s a transcript-based summary of the biggest insights from the discussion.
Meet the Panelists
- Christian Eckels – Product designer at CNN with experience spanning user experience design, design strategy, research and development and product strategy. He works across the full product development lifecycle, consults with AI startups and serves as an adjunct professor at Santa Monica College. He has been a mentor with Designlab since 2021, supporting designers as they build practical skills and confidence in their craft. Christian is a mentor for UX Academy and our AI for UX Design course.
- Chrissy Welsh – VP of Experience at KPN and the instructor and creator of our AI for UX Design course. She has over 20 years of experience across fintech, health tech, e-commerce, digital product innovation and AI. She’s a design thinker, innovator and creator. She aims for clarity, simplicity and consistency, while leaving space for fun and surprising details for users.
- Jacques Debeuneure – Senior Manager of UX at Lowe’s, a Designlab mentor, and one of the key instructors for our AI Prototyping Camp and Vibe Coding Camp. AI Prototyping Camp is very specifically tools-focused on helping you master Figma Make and Loveable, which are two tools that have really shot to the top as far as AI-powered prototyping. It’s an extremely hands-on, tactical, workshop-based format. Vibe Coding Camp goes even deeper beyond just AI-powered prototyping and gets more into the technical side of tools like Cursor, Supabase, Vercel or vZero, so that you can actually learn how to connect up these designs into working functional products.
What’s Changed in the Last Year?
One of the clearest takeaways this year is that AI conversations have matured. The question is no longer “Should we use AI?” but “How do we use it responsibly and strategically?”
As Chrissy reflected on the evolution of technology shifts in her career: "We had the same discussions then about what does it mean to not be on CD-ROM anymore and have products that exist in browsers?”
AI, she suggested, is another inflection point, similar in magnitude to the shift from offline software to the web. The designers who lean in, experiment, and adapt will shape what comes next.
But adoption isn’t frictionless, especially in enterprise environments. Security, governance, and internal policy still play a major role in what’s possible.
The Expanding Role of Designers
AI isn’t just changing workflows—it’s expanding the scope of design itself.
Chrissy noted that designers are having to take on business roles inside the organization. Designers are increasingly expected to understand business strategy, operational constraints, and AI capabilities in tandem. The role is becoming more cross-functional and more strategic.
Jacques echoed this, pointing to experimentation happening in adjacent fields. “That’s where we’re seeing some of the groundbreaking elements of what’s coming new… inside service design and testing and those kind of areas.”
AI isn’t just speeding up UI work—it’s reshaping research, service design, validation, and systems thinking.
From Experimentation to Integration
Last year, many designers were still experimenting. This year, the conversation centered more on integration.
Panelists discussed how AI is being embedded directly into design workflows—especially inside tools like Figma.
Jacques described the emerging “design-to-code-to-component” loop. “When you create the design, run a generation on the Figma plugin to actually create the components based off of the design.”
The workflow doesn’t stop there. Designers can then validate and refine. This shift reflects something important: AI is not a separate tool, but it’s becoming part of the design stack.
Favorite AI Tools
Our survey revealed that ChatGPT remains the biggest player, with 83.5% of designers using it more than any other tool. Beyond the big-name tools, the panelists shared what they’re actually using in their day-to-day workflows:
- Gamma: Chrissy called out this tool as one of her favorites for quickly generating polished presentation decks from prompts.
- Magic Patterns: Christian recommended this tool for quickly generating UI concepts and variations.
- Maze: Jacques highlighted Maze as a key part of his workflow for testing and validation.
Today's Biggest Concern: Design Quality
While AI adoption is accelerating, designers are navigating a new tension: speed versus quality. A key insight from this year’s survey data revealed that more than half of respondents said they’re concerned about the impact of AI on design quality.
As AI-generated outputs become more common, the risk isn’t necessarily that AI replaces designers—it’s that it lowers the average bar and threatens design craft. When everyone can generate something quickly, differentiation becomes harder.
Christian emphasized that AI can "make weak UX look polished. Judgment, taste, and accountability are the responsibility of the designer.”
AI can produce layouts, copy, and flows in seconds. But understanding the product and knowing which output works and why requires context, discernment, and craft.
Chrissy reinforced this idea from a leadership perspective. She pointed out that AI should be treated like a junior designer, whose work you would normally critique and evaluate rather than immediately accepting the output. "You put it through the same rigor as you would put a junior member...because that's your job as a senior on the team."
The Skillsets That Matter
Another concern noted by survey respondents was homogenization. The panel discussed that designers must develop their prompting skills to avoid cookie-cutter outputs. Chrissy shared that her team faces challenges in achieving consistency and quality with AI outputs, and she points to prompting as the catalyst. "If you're terrible at prompting, it's going to be generic...it's an art and a skill."
Christian shared that while he's not concerned about homogenization, he often sees unsophisticated outputs when students aren't engaged in a project or don't understand the problem. "Speed will stop being impressive. Everyone is going to be fast, so teams and individuals that slow down intentionally...will be able to produce better products."
Jacques pointed to the ultimate goal of using AI as a thought partner rather than letting it do all the work. Particularly with designer-to-developer handoffs, designers must continue to respect everyone's roles, collaborate, and follow best practices.
Final Thoughts: Stay Curious and Think Strategically
AI is no longer optional. It’s embedded in our tools, our workflows, and increasingly, our organizations. But how designers respond to that shift will define their impact.
Jacques offered a simple but powerful reminder: “Continue being a student.” The tools and workflows are evolving constantly. Designers who keep experimenting, prototyping, and learning will be the ones who remain relevant.
Chrissy emphasized another critical dimension: understanding the business context behind the work. Design doesn’t exist in a vacuum. “Businesses need to make money to survive.” As AI lowers the barrier to execution, strategic thinking becomes even more valuable.
The designers who thrive in the age of AI will combine learning, business fluency, systems thinking, and accountability.
AI isn’t replacing designers, but it is raising the bar. The future belongs to designers who don’t just use AI tools—but who understand how to shape them, question them, and lead with them.
