Who are we designing for now?

"AI is disrupting more than the software industry, and is doing so at a breakneck speed. Not long ago, designers were deep in Figma variables and pixel-perfect mockups. Now, tools like v0, Lovable, and Cursor are enabling instant, vibe-based prototyping that makes old methods feel almost quaint. What's coming into sharper focus isn't fidelity, it's foresight. Part of the work of Product Design today is conceptual: sensing trends, building future-proof systems, and thinking years ahead."

"But besides the current momentum, we still have to focus on real problems that bring real value as of now. This balance is sometimes challenging, but also creates opportunities to reform our thinking and approaches. As AI agents become embedded collaborators in our systems, designers face a powerful and pressing question: Who are we designing for now? Suddenly, we find ourselves in the middle of a new Experience dilemma: designing for both people and programs."

"AI agents are users, but not humans. Designing for them requires new UX abstractions. Product Design 101 is all about understanding human experiences: how something feels, how intuitive it is, how it delights. But agents don't feel. They parse. They tokenize. They operate on pattern recognition, context, probability, and strict interpretation, so interfaces must include structured data, semantic HTML, accessible roles, predictable metadata, and clear context."

AI is rapidly transforming design beyond software, shifting tools toward instant, vibe-based prototyping and reducing emphasis on pixel-perfect fidelity. Product design increasingly requires foresight: sensing trends, building future-proof systems, and planning years ahead while also addressing immediate, high-value problems. AI agents are becoming embedded collaborators and new kinds of users, creating a dilemma of designing for both people and programs. Agents parse, tokenize, and operate on pattern recognition, probability, and strict interpretation, so interfaces must include structured data, semantic HTML, accessible roles, predictable metadata, and clear context. Balancing emotional human experiences with machine-readable clarity demands new UX abstractions and design practices.

Read at Medium