User Experience Design Trends Shaping the Future of AI

As AI reasoning models become more sophisticated, they're also becoming slower—deliberately taking time to process complex problems. This creates a UX challenge we haven't fully solved: How do we design interfaces that make AI thinking time productive rather than frustrating? One potential solution is to treat these windows like "supersets" in weightlifting. You do a push exercise, then immediately a pull exercise while your push muscles recover. You're always productive, just shifting focus. Applying this concept to AI interfaces: Imagine you're a lawyer using AI to review a complex 100-page contract: "Identify any unusual clauses, compliance risks, and compare terms to our standard agreements." While the AI works through this deep analysis, instead of watching a loading screen, the interface prompts you to begin preparing client-specific context notes or to outline negotiation strategy options based on different potential outcomes. The system intelligently guides you through complementary tasks matched to the processing time. When the AI completes its review, you've already completed valuable work that enhances your overall legal strategy. This "multitasking UX" approach seems better than the alternative of letting the user wait, sitting on their hands. Sure, over a long enough time horizon, this lag will eventually disappear. But in this emerging era, UX designers will increasingly need to solve for "reasoning model lag." Not by making users wait but by making waiting time productive.

AI is killing the UX Design role as we know it. Designers who adapt will evolve into Strategic Experience Architects who will be in high demand. While traditional designers are "pixel-pushing," a new set of designers is emerging.  They're using AI to fast-track design ideas and turning prototypes into working code. A lot of what UX designers are doing manually today is exactly what AI tools are getting good at: • Rapid wireframing concepts • UI component creation • Basic user research • Persona development • Usability testing automation The ability to automate some UX tasks is already here. We have to assume that the technology will only advance quickly. I recently spoke with several Product Managers who are already replacing basic UX tasks with AI tools. When PMs can generate, iterate, and validate designs using AI, what happens to the traditional UX role? Simple products and startups will streamline. PMs with AI will be able to handle the basics. We're already seeing this shift. However, there's a big opportunity here as well. AI has a critical blind spot: it can't grasp the nuanced psychology of human behavior. It can't navigate complex stakeholder dynamics. It can't translate business objectives into meaningful user experiences. This is where the evolution happens. The future belongs to Strategic Experience Architects who: ✦ Define the right problems to solve ✦ Extract insights from human complexity ✦ Align teams around user value ✦ Guide AI with human context The market is splitting: → Basic products: UX roles blend into other roles on the team → Complex enterprises: Strategic UX roles become critical Fortunately, most valuable products are complex and human-centered. Want to stay relevant? Here's what to consider. 1. Master AI design tools   But don't just use them, learn to orchestrate them 2. Evolve from maker to strategist   Your value is in thinking, not in pushing pixels (AI will eventually handle this) 3. Develop business intelligence   Connect user needs to revenue 4. Study human psychology    This is your moat against AI 5. Learn systems thinking Focus on developing repeatable systems in your daily work The UX industry isn't dead, but it is transforming. -- ♻️ Share if you think this will help others ➕ Follow Jason Moccia for more insights on AI and Product Design

AI products like Cursor, Bolt and Replit are shattering growth records not because they're "AI agents". Or because they've got impossibly small teams (although that's cool to see 👀). It's because they've mastered the user experience around AI, somehow balancing pro-like capabilities with B2C-like UI. This is product-led growth on steroids. Yaakov Carno tried the most viral AI products he could get his hands on. Here are the surprising patterns he found: (Don't miss the full breakdown in today's bonus Growth Unhinged: https://lnkd.in/ehk3rUTa) 1. Their AI doesn't feel like a black box. Pro-tips from the best: - Show step-by-step visibility into AI processes - Let users ask, “Why did AI do that?” - Use visual explanations to build trust. 2. Users don’t need better AI—they need better ways to talk to it. Pro-tips from the best: - Offer pre-built prompt templates to guide users. - Provide multiple interaction modes (guided, manual, hybrid). - Let AI suggest better inputs ("enhance prompt") before executing an action. 3. The AI works with you, not just for you. Pro-tips from the best: - Design AI tools to be interactive, not just output-driven. - Provide different modes for different types of collaboration. - Let users refine and iterate on AI results easily. 4. Let users see (& edit) the outcome before it's irreversible. Pro-tips from the best: - Allow users to test AI features before full commitment (many let you use it without even creating an account). - Provide preview or undo options before executing AI changes. - Offer exploratory onboarding experiences to build trust. 5. The AI weaves into your workflow, it doesn't interrupt it. Pro-tips from the best: - Provide simple accept/reject mechanisms for AI suggestions. - Design seamless transitions between AI interactions. - Prioritize the user’s context to avoid workflow disruptions. -- The TL;DR: Having "AI" isn’t the differentiator anymore—great UX is. Pardon the Sunday interruption & hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did 🙏 #ai #genai #ux #plg

UX is evolving. And it's not just about the user anymore. 🤖 Enter AX (Agent Experience). AX expands the design focus beyond just humans to include AI agents, humans, and digital coworkers. In the agentic AI world, all of them are interacting with systems to help get things done. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗨𝗫 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰.  You tap a button. Something happens in the product. Job done. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗫 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰: - The agent tracks ongoing goals, nudges next steps, improves over time. - The system plans its own path - it senses, infers, chooses actions the designer didn't script. - Context is learned, not asked. Patterns, preferences, even team dynamics are remembered and reused. - And success is no longer just task completion. It's also things like earned trust, retention, and long-term value. 𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. We're designing incentives and interactions across humans and AI agents. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲: → How do these AI agents learn and collaborate? → How do we ensure they align with human goals? → How do we build systems that evolve, not just react? The future of experience design is agentic. And this is a huge change in how we design, collaborate, and operate in increasingly AI-integrated systems. And the AX conversation is just beginning. 🔔 Share this with someone who needs to be prepared for the AX future. 👉 Know any new innovative tools or companies powering the AX revolution? Let me know! #AgenticAI #AgentExperience #futureofwork #design

It seems like every day, someone who doesn’t know anything about design proclaims “UI is going away” thanks to advances in AI. The logic goes that soon we’ll just converse with an AI assistant to get everything done. We won’t need any of these pesky menus, buttons, maybe not even screens. But user interfaces aren’t disappearing; they’re evolving. AI makes great UI more important than ever so that we can understand and use it effectively, building better mental models of what this technology can and cannot do. We cannot know AI capabilities and limitations solely from a text box. Let’s stop pretending that a single chat box is the pinnacle of user experience. Conversational AI is powerful, but one size doesn’t fit all for interactions. In many cases, a visual interface is far more efficient and user-friendly than typing or speaking. Consider voice assistants: Alexa was originally voice-only, but even Amazon realized pure voice has limits, hence the Echo Show and devices with screens. Why? Because humans consume visual information faster than spoken information. We can read ~250 words per minute but speak or listen at ~150 wpm. If you ask an AI assistant for the top five movies playing tonight, do you really want to sit and listen as it reads a list aloud? Probably not. The rise of AI is leading new kinds of UI, not a UIpocalypse. We’re already seeing the advent of UI for AI: interfaces designed specifically to harness AI’s power without dumping the burden on the user to craft perfect prompts. Instead of hiding functionality behind a blank text box, give people intuitive controls to direct the AI. Imagine an image editing AI. Rather than forcing the user to type “make the sky brighter and remove the tree on the right,” why not let them click or highlight the parts of the image they want changed? Select a region and adjust a slider, or paint over the object to remove. Tools, not just text boxes. This kind of direct manipulation is often more precise and user-friendly than playing AI Mad Libs with a prompt. AI is also enabling hyper-personalization of interfaces. Rather than one UI to rule them all, AI can tailor the layout, content, and functionality to each user’s needs in real time. Far from disappearing, UIs might become even more present but highly individualized. The future of UX could be one where every interaction is an individualized experience, with interfaces adapting on the fly to a user’s context and preferences. Rumors of UI’s demise are greatly exaggerated. User interfaces are adapting to AI. From multi-modal experiences that blend conversational AI with visual elements, to adaptive UIs personalized by AI, to new design patterns for AI-first products, it’s an exciting evolution. But nowhere in this future does the UI vanish into a black box. Good UI will be a competitive advantage and a key to unlocking AI’s potential for users. Read more: https://lnkd.in/esCfwmKz

Work on designing AI-first assistant and agent experiences has been eye opening. AI UX is both fundamentally the same and widely different, especially for vertical use cases. There are clear and emerging patterns that will likely continue to scale: 1. Comfort will start with proactive intelligence and hyper personalization. The biggest expectation customers have of AI is that it’s smart and it knows them based on their data. Personalization will become a key entry point where a recommendation kicks off a “thread” of inquiry. Personalization should only get better with “memory”. Imagine a pattern where an assistant or an agent notifies you of an anamoly, advice that’s specific to your business, or an area to dig deeper into relative to peers. 2. There are two clear sets of UX patterns that will emerge: assistant-like experiences and transformative experiences. Assistant-like experiences will sound familiar by now. Agents will complete a task partially either based on input or automation and the user confirms their action. You see this today with experiences like deep search. Transformative experiences will often start by human request and will then become background experiences that are long running. Transformative experiences, in particular, will require associated patterns like audit trails, failure notifications, etc. 3. We will start designing for agents as much as we design for humans. Modularity and building in smaller chunks becomes even more important. With architecture like MCP, the way you think of the world in smaller tools becomes a default. Understanding the human JTBD will remain core but you’ll end up building experiences in pieces to enable agents to pick and choose what parts to execute in what permutation of user asks. 4. It’ll become even more important to design and document existing standard operating procedures. One way to think about this is a more enhanced more articulated version of a customer journey. You need to teach agents the way not just what you know. Service design will become an even more important field. 5. There will be even less tolerance for complexity. Anything that feels like paperwork, extra clicks, or filler copy will be unacceptable; the new baseline is instant, crystal‑clear, outcome‑focused guidance. No experience, no input, no setting should start from zero. Just to name a few. The underlying piece is that this will all depend on the culture design teams, in particular, embrace as part of this transition. What I often hear is that design teams are already leading the way in adoption of AI. The role of Design in a world where prototyping is far more rapid and tools evolve so quickly will become even more important. It’ll change in many ways (some of it is by going back to basics) but will remain super important nonetheless. Most of the above will sound familiar on the surface but there’s so much that changes in the details of how we work. Exciting times.

Design is evolving. We’re moving from tools that users control to smart agents that act on their behalf, based on trust, shared values, and intent. Over on our Helio channel, we featured a great visual from Menno Cramer. He makes a strong case that the future of UX isn’t just about screens anymore, it’s about building smart, responsive relationships between people and machines. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gZZw6AS3 To keep up, design needs to think about personalization in new ways, not just changing what people see, but understanding how systems should behave, respond, and grow alongside each user. Cognitive, emotional, and contextual intelligence all matter more now. Systems thinking is becoming essential. Here’s how I see Menno’s UX map from the user perspective: → Yesterday: Usability for everyone Designers focused on creating one experience that worked for the majority. The main goal was to make things usable and remove friction. Personalization was minimal, and most interactions were standardized. “Can I do what I came here to do?” This era was about universal access: clean layouts, simple flows, and clear buttons designed to work for most people. → Today: Adapting to users Designers now listen, learn, and build systems that adjust to each user’s behavior. The focus is on understanding intent and making the experience feel smarter and more relevant. Personalization is moderate, based on user preferences, habits, and patterns. “Does this system understand what I mean and need?” This era is about responsive experiences: designs that shift and evolve as users interact with them. → Tomorrow: Working with users Designers are starting to create agents that collaborate with users. These agents aren’t just helpful, they reflect the user’s goals, values, and emotional context. Personalization is deep, relationships are dynamic, and built on trust. “Is this agent aligned with my goals and values?” This next era is about trusted digital partners: agents that think, speak, and act with the user’s best interest in mind. We’re excited about where design is headed. At Helio, we’ve built UX metrics to help designers track what matters, with simple, standardized data they can share across their team. That includes insights from both users and intelligent agents. What do you think about how design is evolving? #productdesign #uxmetrics #productdiscovery #uxresearch

🌟 What’s Next for AI Design: Themes for 2025 🌟 As we enter 2025, the landscape of AI design is evolving rapidly, with emerging trends reshaping how we build and interact with technology. Here are some key trends I’m particularly excited about: 🔹 1. Interfaces That Adapt to User Needs We’re moving from static UIs to interfaces that dynamically adapt to context, personalization, and real-time inputs. This means simpler, cleaner, and more intuitive UX that delivers exactly what users need when they need it. 🛠️ Examples: Jordan Singer's work at Mainframe and Beam by @Toby Bream (https://beem.computer/) showcase the future of adaptive design. 🔹 2. Reimagining Data Organization Traditional data structuring feels ancient today. AI is helping us rethink how unstructured data is reorganized and delivered intuitively, in formats tailored to our needs. 💡 Check out @MatthewWsiu's explorations on this (https://lnkd.in/gFADJkXS) 🔹 3. Fluid Media AI is democratizing media creation - transforming text into videos, sketches into 3D models, and more. These capabilities open up a world of immersive, creative possibilities. 🎨 There are many advanced models out there, but here is a classic example I worked on a while back that transforms sketches into animated characters (https://lnkd.in/gPYA7xfP) 🔹 4. Multimodal Interactions Gone are the days of singular inputs. Multimodal AI systems combine voice, visuals, text, and beyond to create richer, more engaging user experiences. Claude artefacts are a good example! 🔹 5. Human-AI Connections AI isn’t just a tool - it’s becoming a partner for advice, journaling, task management, and more. Designing safe, meaningful interactions is key to ensuring this shift feels natural and intuitive. 🤖 e.g. I’ve been using apps like Rosebud (https://www.rosebud.app/) that probably know me better than some of my friends! 🔹 6. Immersive Experiences Adaptive interfaces, fluid media, and multimodal capabilities make immersive experiences more accessible than ever. 🌐 Rooms by Things, Inc. has recently launched some fun examples of this (https://lnkd.in/grcnyRcy) 🔹 7. Empowering Anyone to Build Anything The lines between designer, PM, and engineer are blurring. Tools like Cursor are empowering everyone to create AI apps, breaking down traditional silos. 🚀 Dreamcut.ai by Meng To is a great example of the creative potential unlocked by AI. 🔹 8. AI-First Interaction Patterns As AI capabilities grow, we must develop new design patterns to handle these challenges. For those interested in diving deeper, check out my course (https://lnkd.in/gcVgP3My). The next cohort starts in February, and we’ll explore these trends and more! As a reminder, these are just some themes I'm personally excited about and I'm sure I've missed many. Are there other themes you're excited about? Please share them in the comments!

𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗨𝗜: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝘀 & 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 The world of digital experiences is about to undergo a seismic shift. For several months now I have been talking about how we are on the cusp of a transformation where apps and websites, as we know them, will fade away—replaced by AI-powered agents that deliver hyper-personalized, seamless interactions. Earlier today SXSW, Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, made it crystal clear: "AI is not just another technological upgrade—it’s a generational change". Just as we moved from text-based interfaces to graphical UI, and from desktops to mobile-first experiences, we are now transitioning from an app-centric world to a human-centric one. This is not a small step; this is a complete reimagining of user experience. AI will understand intent, anticipate needs, and interact naturally across voice, text, and vision. Forget jumping between disconnected apps—your AI agent will curate, orchestrate, and execute tasks across different platforms effortlessly. 💡 What does this mean for businesses? For marketing, experience, and customer service leaders, this transformation isn’t in the distant future—it’s happening right now. Companies need to rethink engagement strategies and prepare for an era where brand interactions will be conversational, predictive, and embedded in everyday life. ✅ Customer experience will be hyper-personalized. From shopping and banking to travel planning and entertainment, AI-driven agents will tailor experiences to individual preferences in real-time. Imagine an AI that designs your home, books your trips, curates your news, and even personalizes your music—not through different apps, but as an ongoing, intuitive conversation. ✅ AI will redefine creativity & storytelling. Will.i.am also made a special appearance at the session. He mentioned that AI will not only augment creativity but reimagine how music, content, and experiences are crafted. We’re moving toward a world where every consumer has their own custom soundtrack, news feed, and entertainment—tailored dynamically in the moment. 💭 So, what should businesses do today? 🔹 Reimagine your customer journey—How will AI replace app-based navigation with natural interactions? 🔹 Invest in AI-driven personalization—How can your brand deliver real-time, contextual, and intelligent experiences? 🔹 Prepare for voice-first, multimodal interactions—How will your products and services integrate with AI-powered agents instead of static interfaces? The question is no longer if AI will change your industry—it’s how fast you are preparing for it. 🚀 The shift is here. The AI-first world is unfolding. Are you ready? #imaginationera #customerexperience #experiencesupplychain George Korizis Samrat Sharma Katie Eng David Vano Lauren McKinney Maxwell Harberg CJ Bangah

The future of customer experience is proactive, personalized, and powered by AI. This new era in customer experience represents a fundamental shift in how businesses will connect with their customers. Here’s how it’s taking shape: 1. Seamless AI-Human Collaboration The future of CX lies in the synergy between AI and human touch. AI will handle repetitive tasks and complex analysis, freeing human agents to focus on empathy and nuanced problem-solving. This isn't about replacement, but enhancement. 2. Proactive Issue Resolution We're moving beyond reactive CX models. Advanced AI systems will detect patterns and flag potential issues before they impact customers, shifting the paradigm from problem-solving to problem prevention. 3. Real-Time Personalization Beyond basic segmentation, AI delivers truly personalized experiences by analyzing customer data and contextual signals instantaneously. This enables businesses to dynamically adapt every touchpoint, creating experiences that feel custom-crafted for each customer. 4. Emotionally Intelligent Interactions The next frontier is AI that can sense customer sentiment and adjust communication accordingly. This emotional intelligence will be crucial in creating authentic, empathetic customer experiences at scale. 5. Evolving CX Systems: Static systems are becoming obsolete. The future belongs to AI that continuously learns and evolves from every interaction, constantly improving the entire CX infrastructure. The companies poised to lead are doing more than deploying AI—they’re reimagining the entire customer journey with AI at the center. I'm curious to hear from fellow leaders and innovators: What AI-driven CX innovations have caught your attention recently? How do you see these advancements shaping your industry? #CustomerExperience #AI #BusinessTransformation #CX