AI has eaten the technology industry. What started as a slow, hallucination-prone chatbot has become something much harder to ignore. As a designer, it can feel like the ground is shifting under your feet, quietly at first, then all at once. Every week, something new disrupts your workflow, your toolset, your expectations about what’s possible.
The question isn’t whether to use AI. It’s whether you can use it in a way that strengthens craft and judgment instead of diluting both. At Slack Design, our team of about 70 designers is responsible for the full Slack product experience. This is my approach to leading through the AI shift.
What’s actually changed
Over the last year, AI has shifted not only what we’re working on but how we work together. We’re using coding agents for data analysis and rapid prototyping. Designers are building executive demos in code, not just Figma mockups. Less time is spent on status reporting. More time is spent debating across real, working prototypes.
AI tooling has redrawn the boundaries between design and engineering as well. Designers who’ve never written a line of code are now building custom internal tools. Others are fixing UI bugs themselves rather than routing them back to engineering. And the most advanced are even doing feasibility analyses before presenting a new idea.
Still, stress and uncertainty have increased too. Questions about “Is the role of Designer still needed?” and “What are the ethical implications of using AI?” are real and grounded. As a leadership team, we don’t have all the answers, and we’re not pretending to. What we can do is be principled and honest about how we navigate it. Here’s what that looks like for me.
Principles for leading
The transition to an AI-enabled design team is existential. Competition is fierce, and Slack operates in a fast-moving market. But here’s what I keep coming back to: engineers can write and ship more code, but that was never the goal. Customer value is. I believe that by combining AI tools with our own judgement and taste, we can create that value faster and at a greater scale.
These are the principles guiding how I’m leading through this:
- Get curious. Try the tools yourself. See for yourself where AI works and where it doesn’t. It’s difficult to lead your team somewhere you haven’t been. For me, a big part of this journey has been trying to see what’s real versus what’s hype. That means using these tools at work, using them on personal projects, and keeping a close eye on what’s emerging in the market.
- Encourage skepticism. The most vocal AI advocates often have the most to gain. Understand the incentives. If there’s actual value, the best way to help your team find it is to let them discover it themselves. This is why we don’t have mandates or quotas for usage. Our designers need the freedom to explore and reach their own conclusions.
- Own your seat at the table. Our users don’t want more software. They want software that feels simple and intuitive. That’s why the taste and judgment designers bring is more important than ever. LLMs can generate endlessly, but they can’t decide what’s worth building or whether something resonates with real people. That’s still you.
- Don’t share slop. Don’t use AI as an excuse to move fast and flood your team with half-baked docs, endless ideas, or unnecessary artifacts. Be thoughtful about what you put in front of people, and make sure it’s worth their time. The bar for what’s worth sharing is higher than ever.
- Mind your pace. This transition won’t all happen in one day. The agents can run 24/7, but you can’t and shouldn’t. Learning something new while your job and industry are shifting is hard. Be patient with yourself and take breaks.
What’s next?
“Today is the worst the AI models will ever be.”
This is a quote I keep coming back to. AI will keep evolving, and so will the way we design. Designers who avoid it risk being left behind. Designers who over-rely on it risk losing the judgment that earned them the title in the first place. Use AI to move faster, but keep the focus on real customer value, quality, and human judgment.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be opening up about how the Slack Design team is navigating the AI shift. And while the future of our industry is still evolving, our mission at Slack remains the same: make the working life of our customers simpler, more pleasant, and more productive.
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