Using AI to streamline and elevate UX research with Google's Alita Kendrick

May 26, 2025

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Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4370dIB

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In this episode of Insights Unlocked, we’re joined by Alita Kendrick, a UX researcher at Google leading accessibility research for the Google Cloud Platform and exploring new market opportunities. Alita discusses how generative AI is revolutionizing UX workflows—from streamlining planning docs to accelerating qualitative data analysis.

Host Michael Domanic and Alita dive into how tools like Gemini, ChatGPT, and UserTesting’s AI features are cutting research time in half and giving researchers back the space to focus on strategy, storytelling, and democratizing insights across organizations. Alita also shares real-world use cases, common pitfalls to avoid when starting with AI, and how AI can even help uncover your own unconscious biases.

Whether you’re a seasoned UX researcher or just starting to integrate AI into your work, this episode is packed with practical advice, inspiration, and a look at what the future holds for AI-powered research.

Key topics discussed:

How Alita uses AI throughout the research lifecycle—from planning to analysis
Time savings and operational efficiencies achieved through AI tools
Creative tools like NotebookLM, Claude, and Midjourney in UX workflows
How to prompt AI effectively and avoid common early mistakes
Balancing AI outputs with critical thinking and business context
The role of AI in democratizing research and surfacing legacy insights
Personal reflections on AI adoption, experimentation, and optimism for its future

Resources & Links:

Alita on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alita-kendrick/)
Michael on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldomanic/)
Alita’s author site on NNG (https://www.nngroup.com/people/alita-kendrick/)
Alita’s Efficient UX course on NNG (https://www.nngroup.com/courses/efficient-ux/)
Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast