How AI agents are replacing your design process (and what to do about it)

The design process most of us learned — double diamond, linear discovery to delivery, user journey maps — is quietly being replaced. Not by a new framework, but by AI agents that research, ideate, prototype and iterate alongside designers in real time.

Drawing on his work at Microsoft, Tashfeen Ahmed shares what changed when AI agents became part of the day-to-day design workflow: research synthesis happening before kickoff is over, concepts generated while the problem is still being framed, and prototypes produced faster than a traditional brief can be written. He’ll explore how designers can work closer to code using AI coding agents without losing craft, intent or responsibility.