A few weeks ago, I found myself staring at a blank doc, reflecting on a simple but confronting question: What parts of my job can be done by AI now? And more importantly, what’s left after that?
Like many UX designers, I’ve felt the shift. AI is no longer just a speculative trend. It’s present in the tools we use, the processes we follow, and increasingly, in the skills we once considered safe. Prototyping tools suggest components. Copy assistants draft onboarding flows. Research summaries generate themselves.
And it’s only just getting started.
So I did what many of us would. I sat down, took a breath, and listed every task I do as a senior UX designer. The strategic, the collaborative, the repetitive. Then I ran a mental yellow line through each one AI could already do, or soon will.
What AI is already doing (And doing well)
If you’ve used tools like Figma’s AI plugin, Uizard, or Notion’s AI writing assistant, you’ll know how fast certain parts of design work are being reshaped.
For example:
- Wireframes from text prompts? Already possible.
- Heuristic checks for accessibility? Automated in tools like Stark.
- Flow suggestions based on user testing? Now available in Maze.
- AI suggesting which component to use? It’s happening inside design systems.
These aren’t “assisted” workflows anymore. They’re replacements for specific tasks. We don’t need to debate whether these are good or bad. We just need to prepare.
What’s left?
After crossing out everything AI can reasonably perform, I looked at the remaining tasks. What I saw wasn’t a shrinking role, it was a shift. A shift toward the kind of work that’s messy, strategic, emotional, and deeply human.
Here’s what stayed on the list:
- Identifying the right problems to solve
- Facilitating alignment across diverse teams
- Translating scattered user feedback into design direction
- Visioning future states beyond the constraints of a prompt
- Designing ethically in sensitive or ambiguous contexts
- Framing ideas through storytelling
- Mentoring and raising the design bar for others
- Spotting nuance in patterns AI might miss
- Evolving systems for scalability and clarity
These are not tasks you can template or generate. They require emotional intelligence, contextual judgement, political sensitivity, and a collaborative mindset.
What does this mean for the role?
The UX designer role isn’t disappearing. But it’s splitting.
Some responsibilities will shift toward system orchestrators who work with AI as a collaborator. Others will lean into deep human expertise, particularly around ethics, strategy, and storytelling.
What emerges is a new kind of design professional. One who curates instead of produces. One who coaches instead of executes. One who facilitates alignment, not just delivers assets.
If we’re willing to let go of rigid role definitions, we may find ourselves becoming:
- UX Intelligence Partners who translate AI-generated patterns into product decisions
- AI Interaction Designers shaping the tone and behaviour of AI across platforms
- Human-AI Collaboration Leads defining the workflows where people and machines meet
- System Architects who govern how feedback, metrics, and models shape experience design at scale
Note: The titles above are not job postings you’ll find on job boards. Instead, think of them as focus areas or emerging skill sets. They reflect how responsibilities may evolve as AI becomes more embedded in our tools and workflows.
Final thought
Design doesn’t disappear with AI. It grows up. It shifts from output to orchestration. From craft alone to craft plus context. From building things to shaping the systems that build things.
The question is no longer “will my job be replaced?” It’s “what new role am I growing into next?”