Artificial intelligence is redefining the role of UX/UI professionals, shifting the focus from execution to strategic thinking. For Mao Barros, head of creative strategy at Deeploy, a designer's true value no longer lies in what they produce, but in how they interpret, decide and guide work in an increasingly automated context.
The shift has already begun, and it will only intensify in the years ahead. UX/UI professionals are facing a deep transformation — one that stems not just from technological change, but from a structural shift in the role they occupy within organizations. Artificial intelligence is no longer an extra layer: it's now part of the workflow, capable of generating variants, prototypes and interface structures in seconds. The real challenge, though, isn't the tool itself — it's the human capacity to interpret, decide and steer the process. The question is what that will look like.
This will be the true turning point. Tasks once considered essential are losing ground, while strategic skills — analysis, communication, critical thinking, data literacy, business vision — increasingly define a professional's worth. It's no longer about presenting the best visual solution, but about explaining the reasoning behind every decision. That reasoning is exactly what increasingly demanding companies will be looking for.
The profession is also shifting toward a hybrid dimension, where designers draw on knowledge from fields like research, behavioral analysis, UX writing, motion design, or even technical literacy. Far from diluting professional identity, this hybrid model reinforces its relevance in a landscape where design moves closer to strategy and further from mere execution.
At the same time, soft skills are increasingly moving from being nice-to-have extras to core competencies. Understanding which human skills will continue to set true designers apart in an increasingly automated world is becoming the decisive factor. The ability to facilitate conversations, build consensus, guide teams through uncertainty, or communicate effectively with engineering and product teams will be what matters most. A designer who can't clearly articulate what they create will quickly be outpaced by those who master this human, collaborative dimension. "The designer of the future is valued less for what they do and more for how they think."
The takeaway is clear: a designer's value is moving to a strategic level, where intellectual maturity works alongside technical skill to drive that value forward. AI isn't eliminating designers — it's forcing them to evolve. In a market where speed keeps increasing and complexity keeps deepening, only those who position themselves as strategic thinkers will be ready for 2026 and the years that follow.
Mao Barros is head of creative strategy at Deeploy.
