#138 Big UX Trends 2026: The Shifts Designers Can’t Ignore
Future of UX | Your Design, Tech and User Experience Podcast | AI Design
AI research at machine speed
Patricia outlines how AI accelerates research: synthesis, recruiting, interviewing, and the role of human validation.
2026 is not just another trend year for UX.
It’s a transition phase.
⚡️ Trend report
Get access to the trend report (40min video)
In this episode, I’m sharing my UX Trends 2026 and why this moment matters more than the last ten years combined.
AI is no longer just a feature we add to products.
It’s becoming the interaction itself.
At the same time:
interfaces are dissolving
research is accelerating at machine speed
roles and career paths are shifting
and designers are facing new tensions around agency, personalization, and privacy
It’s about making sense of the signals we’re seeing right now – based on real project work, conversations with teams and leaders, and patterns emerging across the industry.
This is an exciting, challenging, and important year for UX.I hope this episode helps you navigate it with a bit more clarity.
In this episode, we talk about:
Generative UI and why UX is shifting from screens to intent
No-UI moments and what it means when UX disappears
AI-powered research and why designers become orchestrators of insight
Designing AI products that users can actually trust
Agentic AI and the rise of human–agent ecosystems
Vibe coding and why execution is no longer the bottleneck
The growing tension between personalization and privacy
Why UX roles are shifting from execution to agency
This episode is also connected to a free UX Trends 2026 report, where I walk through all trends in a more visual way, with concrete examples and products.
👉 You can sign up for the free report via the link in the show notes.
And if you want to go deeper into AI and UX this year:
AI for Designers starts its next round at the end of January. You can currently join the waitlist and get access to an early-bird discount when registration opens.
AI for Designers: 5-week Bootcamp 💻 Open Jan 26' 2026
→ Sign up for the waiting list
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