AI isn’t killing design, but it is changing where design leaders focus, and where teams create the most value.

In this episode of CX Cast, Angelina Gennis and Martin Gill speak with Gina Bhawalker, Principal Analyst at Forrester, about new research on how AI is reshaping design workflows, roles, and expectations across organisations. Drawing on interviews with more than 30 design leaders, Gina explains why AI compresses execution work while increasing the importance of discovery, judgement, and experience strategy. She shares how design effort shifts left and up, not out.

We cover:

  • Why AI speeds execution but raises the bar on problem definition
  • How design effort is moving toward discovery and strategic decisions
  • Where AI use cases deliver real value today (and where they don’t)
  • Why strong design systems are essential for scalable AI adoption
  • How roles evolve as designers move from executors to evaluators