The tidal shift we can’t ignore

When ChatGPT burst onto the scene I treated it like a toy — fun for rewrites, nothing more. Twelve months later a McKinsey survey shows 65 % of companies already use generative AI and overall AI adoption has jumped to 72 %. That’s not a trend line — it’s a tidal shift. As design teams feel the squeeze to do more with less, the ability to wield AI responsibly is fast becoming table-stakes.

Why AI raises the bar instead of lowering it

In my own projects, AI hasn’t replaced the craft of design — it’s removed the slog:

  • Research synthesis → Large-language models cluster interview quotes in minutes.
  • Persona drafts → I generate “version 0” personas, then validate with real data.
  • Wireframe riffs → Figma’s AI plugins spit out alternate layouts I’d never have sketched.
  • Usability-test parsing → A ChatGPT prompt surfaces pain-point patterns while the session recording is still warm.

The payoff is brutal efficiency and more headspace for strategy and storytelling.

A four step-starter kit for solo experimentation

experimentation prompts for AI

Give these a try in your next sprint — you’ll feel the momentum immediately.

Where I kept spinning my wheels

Once the initial buzz wore off, I ran into three walls: choosing the right tool, writing effective prompts, and keeping ethics front-and-center. Blog posts helped, but I wanted structured practice, peer critique, and mentorship — the same ingredients that made me a designer in the first place.

A guided option if you want to go deeper

Designlab quietly launched a 4-week online course, “AI for UX Design,” built exactly for that gap. Here’s why it caught my eye:

1. Practical, not theoretical.

Each week pairs a live lecture with a hands-on project that rolls into a portfolio-ready case study.

2. Mentor feedback.

You ship work, get line-by-line notes from a senior designer, iterate, repeat.

3. Tool variety.

ChatGPT, Midjourney, Galileo, Figma plugins, Copilot, and more — used in context, not demos

4. Manageable time commitment.

~5–6 hrs/week over four weeks fits around a full-time job

5. Accessibly priced.

List price is $799 (currently $699 for the May 2nd cohort) — a fraction of a bootcamp and reimbursable for many learning budgets.

Money-back safety net.

Don’t love it? Refund within a week of finishing.

Who it’s not for: brand-new designers. You’ll need a solid grasp of UX fundamentals and Figma to benefit. If that’s you, start with foundational coursework first.

I see it as an accelerated lab: four weeks to pressure-test AI workflows with a safety net and emerge with evidence of impact.

6. Choosing your next step

If you’re AI-curious: start with the four-step kit above and time yourself — you’ll feel the delta.

If you’re ready for structure: check out Designlab’s course details here and decide if this cohort fits your calendar.

Either way, the designers who learn to collaborate with machines — without losing the human insight — will define the next chapter of our craft.

Disclosure: The link above is an affiliate link, which means I may earn a small commission if you enroll — at no additional cost to you. I only promote products I genuinely find valuable.

Incorporating AI into Your UX Workflow was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.