How AI Is Changing the Way UX Designers Work — and Why That’s a Good Thing (Mostly)

AI continues to make waves in the design world — with posts about “vibe coding,” auto-generated interfaces, and AI-driven ideation sparking conversation across the industry. At shUX, we've been actively experimenting with these tools ourselves, particularly Figma Make (in its beta release), to understand where AI can support — not replace — the creative process.

One thing is clear: AI has serious potential to speed up the early stages of product design. With a well-built UI kit and component library, we’ve found that tools like Figma Make allow us to quickly spin up prototypes that kickstart meaningful conversations. This is especially valuable when designing net-new functionality, where ideation benefits from speed and unexpected inputs. Sometimes, the AI even generates ideas we hadn't considered — a fresh set of “eyes,” in a way.

However, we’re not there yet when it comes to refinement and polish. While iterative prompt-based improvements are possible, turning a rough prototype into something production-ready still requires significant human effort. We’re optimistic that future versions of tools like Figma Make will support bi-directional workflows, ideally giving us editable Figma design files that designers can build on — accelerating the Discovery phase without compromising craft.

And this is where our true excitement lies.

Instead of displacing UX designers, AI can enhance cross-functional collaboration:

• Product consultants can better express ideas visually.

• Designers can clearly communicate functionality to engineers.

• Engineers gain early visibility and potentially usable code.

If we embrace AI as a collaborative partner — not a one-size-fits-all solution — we can strengthen the bonds between disciplines and speed up decision-making without sacrificing quality.

That said, we do hope teams stay thoughtful. Relying too heavily on surface-level automation could lead to teams where everyone does everything… just okay. Let’s not lose our edge — let’s use AI to deepen it.

Curious to hear how others are experimenting. Has your team tried using AI in the design process yet?