My entire career I’ve heard the same battle cry from UX folks, “We need a seat at the table!” I have been on all sides of this conversation – as a young designer trying to influence, as a middle manager supporting my design team and as a company leader balancing the needs of the various disciplines and stakeholders. 25 years in, this still seems to be a real concern for user experience designers and their leaders. I think AI is going to be the transformation driver that finally makes UX indispensable. 

Apple, Netflix, et al couldn’t do it

One would have thought that the runaway success of the iPhone, not to mention Apple’s continuous streak of beautifully designed software and hardware would have made UX design a front-row player in most organizations. I, personally, have worked for more than 2 clients who have demanded to become the “Apple of [x].” Netflix’s dedication to simplicity and minutes watched across so many different platforms and devices should also have made UX universally positioned for influence. And yet, just this past week I had a conversation with several design leaders at prominent, global organizations about how their teams are still an afterthought in most discussions. 

AI as a design discussion tool

When I started working professionally as a UX designer it would take me anywhere for 1-3 days to get an idea visualized to a point I could share it with anyone. The type of idea didn’t matter. It could have been a feature-level enhancement, a system-wide design change or a strategic path for a program of applications. AI reduces that time-to-idea to minutes. This is a powerful tool for a UX team. Instead of asking folks to imagine a future world and then showing it to them several days later. You can use the tools you’re already familiar with to begin having real-time iterative discussions with your stakeholders. 

Want to illustrate a cross-silo user journey? Spend 15 minutes in Figma Make (or whatever your tool of choice is) and there’s something to react to. The UX lead is now driving the conversation, collecting feedback and adjusting the approach in real-time as other stakeholders watch. Could they do this themselves? Sure. But they don’t know the tools (yet). This is UX’s opportunity. Take the reins in brainstorming, visualizing and facilitating. Humans are particularly bad at imagining the future state of things – especially if they are radically different from what they are right now. The skills and tools you have at your disposal today can ensure that UX becomes an indispensable player in any discussion from the strategic to the tactical. 

UX as a moderator of AI mediocrity

With most GenAI tools trained on similar materials, their output becomes obviously familiar and stale. This is another opportunity for UX to take the lead. Answering the question, “How do we take the initial output from the GenAI tools and make them unique? Special? Innovative?” Once again, this is where UX design shines. In a world where the bots design the lowest common denominator scenarios, UX designers can polish and refine the work to not only serve a specific audience but to also stand out in a sea of sameness. 

If you wait too long, someone else will do it

UX designers have an advantage right now. We know the tools, the audience and the user needs. GenAI empowers nearly everyone to create something, but not necessarily something valuable or innovative. This is UX’s advantage. UX designers can use the tools they already have with the skills they have honed to take the leadership role that has eluded them for so long. Take the initiative to show off a new idea with your team. Show them you can drive this conversation and react to their feedback in real time. Do it now because, eventually, others will learn the tools and try to claim the same role. AI can make UX indispensable now.