I’ve spent the past short while talking to product designers about AI. About how they’re using it, what it means, the pros, the cons and so on.
From Dylan Field’s latest podcast appearance to brutally honest Reddit threads where senior designers are venting their frustrations. What I found isn’t the typical “AI will revolutionise everything” hype, which I was probably expecting. It’s definitely far more nuanced, and frankly, more useful if you’re hiring or managing design teams.
Here’s what’s actually happening.
Where I’m Seeing The Challenge: Companies Are Pushing AI Without A Clear Strategy
Let’s start with what’s actually happening. A senior product designer posted on r/UXDesign:
“We are moving towards using AI within all our internal processes… every time I push back there’s a new AI tool suggestion for us to try.”
This isn’t an isolated train of thought. The growing mandate from the business seems to be: “Use AI for everything, move faster, do more with less people.” One design team reported testing five different AI tools in four months. That feels exhausting, not efficient.
The pressure is real, and it’s coming from the top. As one designer bluntly put it: “Yes, mainly this!” when asked if companies are trying to squeeze more work out of fewer people.
What Designers Are Actually Using AI For (The Practical Stuff)
This is where AI is genuinely proving useful:
Research & Analysis
- Deep research on unfamiliar domains (especially helpful in specialised fields like medtech)
- Transcribing and summarising user interviews
- Creating initial interview scripts
- Analysing usage data for UX hypotheses
- Market and competitor analysis
Administrative & Repetitive Tasks
- Meeting notes and recaps
- Tone of voice checks against brand guidelines
- Design QA (comparing Figma exports to build screenshots)
- Generating user personas for brainstorming
Rapid Prototyping
- Creating low-fidelity prototypes for design sprints (tools like V0, Lovable, Bolt, Figma Make)
- Generating multiple concept variations quickly
- Building clickable prototypes for stakeholder alignment
Dylan Field from Figma noted:
“PMs are no longer saying to the designer, hey, can you draw this thing out for me? That frees up designer time to go explore more deeply the stuff they need to go into.”
What Designers Are Doing Less Of (And Why That’s Concerning)
AI is not replacing the core design work. At least not yet. But it’s changing what designers spend time on. The theory is that AI handles the repetitive stuff, freeing designers for strategic work.
The reality seems to be, as one designer admitted: “It’s a bit disappointing to let a tool do what I’ve enjoyed doing all these years.”
Multiple voices stressed keeping the actual design work human. Three core themes seemed to surface in the discussions:
- Generic Output – AI produces “the most common generic design patterns that exist.” If you want differentiation, you need human creativity.
- IP Nightmare – This is huge. Several experienced designers flagged that AI-generated designs may not be copyrightable under current US and EU law. One designer’s company requires extensive documentation promising never to push AI work into production. The risk to intellectual property is real and largely unaddressed.
- Loss of Intimacy With Data – As one veteran designer put it: “People forget the whole point of synthesis is to become intimate with the data and be able to drive insights and hypotheses. Letting an AI do it does nothing but give you gross pattern matching at best and outright fabrication at worst.”
The Quality vs Speed Paradox
Dylan Field made a point that cuts through the noise:
“We’re no longer in this era of good enough is fine. Good enough is not enough. It’s mediocre. If you want to win in the game of software, you need to differentiate through design. Craft matters.”
Yet simultaneously, companies are pressuring designers to use AI to move faster.
Which is, i think, where we’ll see the problem.
One design team using AI extensively reported: “It’s getting us to 70% of the desired output. Small polishing and fixes can then be done by developers.”
That 30% gap is where I think the real craft lives. And that’s what takes time.
Is The Industry Worried? Not Uniformly.
The data tells an interesting story:
- Only 17% of designers surveyed see AI as a threat to their role
- 72% say AI tools are expanding their roles and responsibilities
- 53% agree you still need deep knowledge even with AI
Dylan Field’s take is bullish: “Design matters so much and designers matter so much. I think designers are going to be the leaders of the future.”
But drill into the Reddit threads and you’ll find a different tone. Designers are tired. One commented about the constant tool-testing: “It’s getting a bit exhausting.”
The scepticism isn’t about AI’s capabilities, it’s about how it’s being deployed. There’s a strong sense that companies are throwing tools at problems without understanding what problems actually need solving.
The Future: Role Convergence, Not Role Replacement
Dylan Field predicts, backed by Figma’s research, that roles are merging.
The future isn’t “designer” or “engineer” or “PM”, it’s product builders with different specialisations.
- 56% of non-designers are now engaging in design-centric tasks (up 12 percentage points in one year)
- Engineers are getting better at prompting and breaking down tasks for AI
- Designers need to engage with code
- PMs need to engage with design
The distinction between “pixels and code” is becoming less relevant when AI can bridge that gap rapidly.
What This Means If You’re Hiring or Managing Design Teams
Stop mandating tools, start defining outcomes
Your designers don’t need another AI tool to evaluate. They need clarity on what problems need solving and permission to choose the right tool for the job.
The IP question needs answering now
If your legal team hasn’t weighed in on AI-generated work and copyright, you’re exposed. One designer’s advice: “Ask your boss to ask the legal team if they are cool with putting the company’s intellectual property at risk.”
Hiring for AI judgment is a thing
Dylan Field emphasised this repeatedly: “Judgment matters just as much as ever. The ability to rally a team around a vision matters just as much as ever.”
AI can make mediocre designers slightly faster. It cannot make them better at the strategic thinking that separates good design from great design.
Protect craft time
If you’re pushing for AI adoption to move faster, you need to protect time for the craft that differentiates your product. The “70% AI output, 30% human refinement” model only works if that 30% gets proper attention.
My Take
The design community isn’t worried about AI replacing them. They’re worried about being forced to use AI badly.
There’s a massive gap between what executives think AI can do for design teams, what AI actually does well, and what designers need to do their best work.
Good Creative and good Design are now a strategic advantage.
The companies that will win aren’t the ones using the most AI tools. They’re the ones who understand that speed without craft is just fast mediocrity.
As Dylan Field put it: “You can either see AI as an opportunity for your company to grow and do more or you can look at it as cost-cutting efficiency but I think the growth part is way more exciting.”
The question isn’t whether to use AI. It’s whether you’re using it to augment craft or replace it.
Based on what I’m seeing, the best design teams are doing the former. Everyone else is just moving faster toward forgettable products.
What are you seeing in your teams? Are designers genuinely more productive, or just busier? I’d genuinely love to hear from design leaders navigating this.
Before you go, can you help me out?
Nearly 1300 people have now subscribed to this newsletter in ~15 weeks, which makes me feel that it’s resonating. So thank you to all of you 🙏🏻
If you found this issue useful, here are three ways you could support me:
- Share it – Forward this to a founder, hiring manager, or job seeker who you think might find it useful and/or interesting.
- Subscribe to this newsletter
- Follow and/or connect with me on LinkedIn if you’re not already – https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonfromcrew/
- Send feedback – What topics would help you most? What’s working? What isn’t? Just hit reply.
These small actions make a massive difference in helping me reach more people who need this content.
Thanks for being here. Have a brilliant week ahead.
Weekly newsletter drop: Wednesday, 1:30pm
Need hiring help?
If you’re struggling with a specific hiring challenge, I still offer 1:1 strategy calls through my consultancy, Crew. Book a 15-minute clarity call here.
Simon
