AI will replace the UXR of today, not tomorrow
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has fuelled concerns about its potential to render entire industries obsolete, particularly the user experience and design sector. However, this fear may be more accurately described as the end of the world as we know it - the world as we understand and perceive it today, that is.
Humans are no strangers to frequent transformations, with continuous innovations shaping our way of life. The rise of AI is no exception - we continuously pioneer novel developments, and adapt to the changing landscapes. While current User Experience Research (UXR) practices may become outdated, the industry as a whole is poised to adjust, embracing these new technologies and evolving its approach.
Whilst AI will significantly alter the industry, it will not render UXRs or the UX industry obsolete. Here’s why:
Yes AI provides faster insights - but what is intelligence without understanding?
While AI excels at rapidly processing vast amounts of data and generating insights, it currently lacks the nuanced understanding and empathy inherent in human cognition. UXRs bring a depth of comprehension regarding human behaviour, motivations and emotions that goes beyond the analytic capabilities of AI today. It’s hard to envision a world without the ‘humanness’ that comes from UX practitioners.
AI can undoubtedly provide valuable insights and automate certain tasks, but it cannot replace human empathy and emotional intelligence - AI currently struggles with understanding nuances and emotional subtleties based on social cues. LLMs do not understand meaning either, and whilst they may sound smart the tool isn’t really thinking, it’s just writing. Its lack of genuine comprehension and contextual understanding limits its ability to truly replicate the richness of human experiences.
AI is great at secondary research, but not yet great at primary research
Primary research involves making new discoveries, observations and collecting data to answer questions without existing answers. Secondary research relies on existing knowledge and does not make new observations. AI is excellent at producing secondary research, but less able to generate primary research through interviews, surveys or observational studies.
LLMs can efficiently analyse existing data and draw patterns from it, but when it comes to gathering firsthand primary research via interviews, it falls short. It’s unable to fully understand objectives, scope and design, and whilst AI can spit out answers based on data it cannot currently collect data and derive meaning and new understanding from them
The ability of UXRs to engage with users directly, ask probing questions and adapt strategies makes their role irreplaceable.
AI cannot yet come up with novel creative ideas
Creativity is a unique and distinct human quality. Although AI has been incredible in producing variations based on existing data, it lacks the ability to independently come up with novel solutions. AI’s creative output are confined by predefined parameters and prompts, restricting its capacity to generate truly ground-breaking ideas.
In contrast, human UXRs contribute a unique mix of intuition, creativity and experience. This combination means research methodologies are not only functional but also deeply aligned with the diverse and evolving needs of users.
AI cannot manage relationships for you
Building and managing relationships with multiple human stakeholders are key aspects of UXR, and the emotional intelligence required for meaningful research relationships is currently lacking in AI. Trust and authentic connections between researcher and participant will remain crucial for eliciting genuine insights from research, and this is something AI cannot establish.
The dynamic nature of human interactions and the ability of UXRs to adapt communication styles are integral skills that AI currently lacks.
AI still needs human review
A 2023 survey of over 1,000 UX researchers by User Interviews revealed a significant worry about AI's low-quality outputs. The concern stems from incomplete or surface-level insights generated by AI due to a lack of contextual understanding. It is crucial for researchers, especially the inexperienced, to exercise caution in relying too heavily on AI, as this may lead to false and misguided insights in the nuanced field of research.
In essence, while AI brings transformative changes to the UX industry, the unique human qualities possessed by UXRs remain indispensable. The industry will evolve, integrating AI as a tool, but the essence of understanding, creativity, and human connection will continue to be central to the field.
So what does this mean for the future of UXR?
Despite the apprehension of some UX practitioners, the majority are using AI to some extent. In a study of 800+ UX professionals by Nielsen Norman Group in 2023, 92% of respondents reported that they had used at least one GenAI tool. User Interview’s study of 1093 UXRs showed that 77.1% are using AI in at least some of their work. Evidently, there are major benefits of adding AI into a UXR’s toolkit, some of which include:
Using GenAI for initial research (i.e. ChatGPT, Kraftful)
Survey building and insights generation (i.e. HotJar, Qualtrics)
Making it easier to gather and analyse large amounts of research data (i.e. Dovetail, Dscout, Synthetic Users)
Automating some parts of the UXR process (Miro Assist, QoQo)
Assisting in recruitment-related tasks such as collecting signatures for consent forms and NDAs, scheduling sessions, screening applicants, outreach and incentives distribution (Dscout)
Transcription and note-taking (i.e. Looppanel, Grain, Notably)
Generating interview questions and prompts (i.e. Indeemo, UX Squid)
Detecting risk or bias
Assisting in report writing, editing or brainstorming (i.e. Notion AI)
Research synthesis across qualitative and quantitative data
Whilst AI won’t be rendering the field of UXR obsolete, it is clear that it will make life easier in a number of ways and will shift the world of UXR as we know it.
A few ways that AI is transforming the UXR industry:
It acts as a sparring partner:
AI can be seen as a sparring partner rather than a replacement to UXRs. It can help get to insights faster, automating and doing the heavy lifting on repetitive tasks, allowing UXRs more time to conduct deeper and bigger research.
By handling data at scale, AI opens up the opportunity for greater efficiencies in the UXR process and aids us in achieving more quality and quantity in our work. This is particularly helpful for small research teams that don’t have the man-power to conduct large scale UXR.
When you take a look at the wide array of AI tools that are available, as listed earlier, there really is a sparring partner for every step of the research process.
It shifts the role of UX researchers
As AI automates routine tasks, UXRs undergo a metamorphosis from gatherers of insights into curators, organisers, facilitators, and strategic guides - they redirect their focus towards problem-solving, strategy formulation, research enhancement, and visionary thinking. Liberated from low-stakes tasks, UXRs are now poised to refine their creativity and problem-solving skills, evolving into a role that is more of a manager - a composer of raw input and a guide for stakeholders in asking the right questions and pointing them to the right insights.
It will lead to a requirement to shift skillsets
The rise of AI in UXR underscores the need for a paradigm shift in skillsets. With this shift from gatherers to curators and strategic guides - soft skills, interpersonal proficiency, a holistic understanding of the larger picture, passion, and friendliness emerge as indispensable. Machine learning algorithms generate quantitative analytics and insights, guiding designers in the right direction; however, they often fail to reveal the underlying behaviours or motivations of humans. Naturally, the focus for UXRs pivots towards asking "why" and leveraging skills such as research, strategic thinking, problem-solving, empathy, and intuition.
The AI and technology landscape is constantly changing and evolving every day, making it difficult to accurately predict what it will look like in the future. What we can say is that AI is fundamentally reshaping the UXR industry, but it won’t replace the need for human researchers. AI in UXR has many benefits - it provides valuable insights and automates certain tasks, allowing us to get more insights, faster. However, human intuition and creativity remain essential to the practice and is something AI cannot yet fully replicate. UXRs must learn to balance the use of AI with their own empathy and creativity.
At Tightrope, we’re always looking to help our clients learn more about the benefits of AI, and assist organisations with integrating AI into their existing UX and design practices. If you want to learn more, reach out for a conversation - we would love to chat!