Future of UX | Your Design, Tech and User Experience Podcast | AI Design #134 The Economics Behind AI: What Designers Need to Know
Nov 27, 2025
Dive into the fascinating world of AI economics with insights on why some tools thrive while others falter. Discover the balance between training and inference costs that drive expenses, and learn how companies like Midjourney and Canva manage to stay financially healthy. Explore the motivations behind OpenAI's IPO and what it signifies for the industry. Finally, uncover predictions for pricing shifts, tool stability, and further integration of AI in design workflows, equipping designers for the future.
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Bus Ride Sparked The Episode
- Patricia noticed an 'OpenAI prepares for IPO' headline while on a bus to baby swimming and it sparked this episode idea.
- That moment made her dig into the financial realities behind the AI tools designers use.
Why AI Is So Expensive
- AI has massive fixed costs (training, GPUs, research) and ongoing variable inference costs for every user action.
- Those two cost types shape pricing, features, and which AI tools can survive long-term.
Design Pricing Around Unit Economics
- Use subscriptions, API consumption, enterprise contracts or credit systems to monetize AI products strategically.
- Introduce usage gaps, premium tiers, and enterprise-only features when per-action economics lose money.