Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI, is revolutionising the world as we speak. For many, this means a change of how we live and work. Jobs that would have been traditionally performed by humans are now being performed by computers. For example, supermarket cashiers are being replaced by self checkout tills, while self automated robots are performing warehouse operative roles.
It is no different in the UX industry, where we have seen the emergence of AI change the UX designer's role and approach to their work.
But, what is AI and how is it transforming UX design?
What is AI?
The term AI was first used by John McCarthy, an American mathematician and computer scientist, in 1955 to describe computers mimicking human learning and problem solving. When asked in 2007 what AI is, John responded by saying "it is science and engineering of making intelligent machines".
There are many forms of AI, ranging from machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, computer vision to natural language processing amongst others. The earliest example of AI was a chatbot created in 1960 called ELIZA, who used pattern matching techniques to simulate a conversation.
Whether we realise it or not, AI can be found all around us, in our mobile phones with Google's Siri and in our living rooms with Amazon's Alexa. ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI in 2022, is recorded as being the fastest growing consumer software application in history, gaining over 100 million users in its first two months. Through prompts and inputs, ChatGPT generates human-like responses.
How is AI used in UX design?
UX designers are increasingly turning to AI as a tool to make them more productive and streamline their workflow. Through AI, designers are spending less time analysing data and spending more time iterating their designs, leading to an improved user experience.
Lets take a look at 5 ways designers are using AI...
01. Conducting user research and testing
To ensure they meet their users expectations UX designers must first understand their needs, concerns and behaviors. This is achieved through user research. Many UX designers are now turning to AI to speed up this process. Tools like Miro and Dovetail, use AI to analyse large volumes of data efficiently, whilst providing designers with valuable insights that can be later used to create user personas.
02. Creating user personas
Once a UX designer has conducted user research and gained valuable insights, the next step is to use these findings to create user personas. These are semi-fictional representations of the ideal type of audience the website wishes to target. User personas provide UX designers with an illustrative understanding of the user's needs and concerns.
Because user personas are built using vast amounts of data, they can be tedious and resource intensive. Using AI tools like UXPressia and ChatGPT can significantly reduce the amount of time and effort required to create them. AI can identify patterns that may go unnoticed by humans and generate personas that are easily scalable.
03. Generating wireframes
Coming up with ideas for wireframes can often be challenging and time consuming. It is therefore no surprise to find UX designers turning to AI tools like Uizard and Relume to help them save time and effort. By simply inputting a description of the website, these tools can generate wireframe ideas in a matter of seconds.
04. Writing website copy
Using real content is vital for UX designers to ensure they capture the correct look and feel in their wireframes and designs. Seeing real content helps designs feel more approachable and easier for clients to give feedback on. For those designers who are not comfortable with writing content, AI plugins like ContentReel lets you create custom content within your design tools.
05. Creating colour palettes
AI colour palette generators such as Khorma and Huemint help UX designers create unique colour palettes quickly and accurately. Through machine learning it provides them with endless possibilities based on colour theory and user preference. All recommendations are tested to meet contrast and visibility standards, ensuring any design made meets accessibility guidelines. By simplifying and speeding up the process of choosing colours, these tools have quickly become essential to UX designers.
Will AI replace UX designers?
The simple answer is no.
Like with many other professions, there is a growing fear that AI will replace UX designers. However, while AI excels at processing data and identifying patterns, it does have it limitations. It lacks the capability to understand and design for human emotions. It essentially doesn't have the human touch required to create empathetic and user-centered products which is a key component of UX design.
That's not to say that AI doesn't have a place in UX design. Instead, designers should view it as an opportunity rather than a threat. AI is a powerful tool that can be used to empower designers and help strengthen their work. By automating time consuming tasks like analysing data it can streamline with workflow and make them more efficient. This can allow them to focus their efforts on pushing their creative boundaries.
Key takeaway
AI is a term used to describe computers mimicking human learning and problem solving. It has revolutionised how we live and work. For UX designers AI is reshaping how go about their role.Bu automating tedious and time consuming tasks like analysing data, it streamlines their work, allowing them to focus their attention on other areas, such as problem-solving, strategy and vision.
UX designers should not worry about the impact AI is having on their industry. As the general census is that it will not replace them in their job. Instead, it should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a threat. AI lacks the ability to feel empathy, a key component of designing user-friendly products. So, while AI is changing how UX designers work, it wont replace them entirely.
