5 AI tools for key phases of your UX design process
Artificial intelligence (AI) can simplify your UX design process. Chances are, you already know that. Maybe you’ve even tried some popular AI tools, like the good ol’ ChatGPT. But did you know that certain AI tools work best at specific phases of the design process?
Having tested a selection of AI design tools, I’ve found that some are better suited for certain stages of the UX design process than others. What do I mean by that? Well, stick with me as I walk you through the right AI tools for user research, ideation, wireframing, color generation, and UI design.
I’ll show you what each AI tool can do and how much they cost. If you’re ready, let’s get started.
User research — UX Pilot
Although AI can’t do all your research work for you, it can certainly make your job much easier. Take UX Pilot AI, for instance. It’s an AI-powered web app and Figma plugin that can assist you right from the discovery phase of your project down to the final design.
UX Pilot can be particularly helpful in the research phase by generating strategic user research questions and synthesizing large volumes of research data. With UX Pilot, you can:
Generate stakeholder interview questions
The UX Pilot Stakeholder Interview feature can give you a solid head start in the interview phase. It can craft targeted questions for various stakeholder roles, industries, and products in only a few seconds.
Generate user interview questions
To generate user-focused interview questions with UX Pilot all you need is a brief description of your interview goal and the problem you’re trying to solve.
Synthesize research data
UX Pilot Synthesize plugin makes deducing insights from large volumes of research data easy. With just one click, this plugin gives you an AI-generated summary of texts, sections, frames, or sticky notes, saving you tons of time.
Pricing
UX Pilot offers a standard plan at $12/month (420 credits) and a pro plan at $22/month (1200 credits). And if you’re not ready to commit, you can test it out with the free plan which gives you 90 credits to start.
Tips for using UX Pilot
- When prompting the AI to generate interview questions, outline your research goals clearly in the space provided. The more focused and well-defined your prompt, the better the quality of research questions the AI will generate.
- Keep in mind that each time you prompt the AI, it’ll come up with a different set of questions, so it’s useful to generate multiple outputs and select the best ones.
Ideation — Visily
When it comes to idea generation, the more variety, the better. AI tools can lend a helping hand by generating a wide mix of ideas and sparking new creative directions. One such tool is Visily, an AI-powered design tool that enables teams to brainstorm and create app wireframes.
To generate ideas with Visily AI, click the Ask AI button, enter your prompt, and hit Enter. Here are some ideas the tool generated for the prompt:
Suggest possible features for an app that allows users to share rides with other travelers heading in their direction.
Pricing
Visily’s pro plan costs $11/editor/month and gives you access to 3,000 AI credits. But if you want to try things out first, you can get started with its free plan which gives you 100 AI credits.
Tips for using Visily
- If you’re not satisfied with the initial suggestions, you adjust them by entering a follow-up prompt. For example, specify different user scenarios to see a broader range of ideas.
Wireframing — Uizard
Building the skeletal framework for your design, a.k.a wireframing isn’t exactly a quick task. That is if you have to do it manually. However, AI can significantly cut the time spent on this phase of the design process. With an AI-powered tool like Uizard, you can generate multi-screen wireframes from a simple text prompt, an image, or even a rough sketch in minutes. This can give you a good head start and get those creative juices flowing quickly.
To create wireframes with Uizard’s Autodesigner feature, enter a text prompt, choose a style, and let the AI perform its magic. Here are the wireframes Uizard generated for the prompt:
A web app that lets users customize their perfume orders.
Pricing
Uizard’s pro plan costs $12 a month and allows up to 500 AI generations/month, the business plan costs $39 per month and offers 5,000 AI generations/month. But if you’re not ready to make a financial commitment, you can start with the free plan which allows 3 AI generations/month.
Tips for using Uizard
- Uizard generates high-fidelity designs by default. To switch to low-fidelity wireframes, select Wireframe Mode from the top panel.
- You can unlock a free month of Uizard Pro by getting five people to sign up. Go to the Billing page, select Try Pro for free, copy your referral code, and share it with your network. Once five people sign up with your link, you’ll get a promo code for free access to Uizard Pro for one month.
Color generation — Khroma
Another way AI can speed up your design process is by generating color palettes. One AI-powered tool that does this well is Khroma. It’s a free tool that uses AI to learn about your color preferences and then creates unlimited color palettes based on your likes.
To generate color palettes with Khroma, click the Generate button on the homepage. You’ll then be prompted to choose fifty colors from a large grid of squares. Once you’re done, click ‘Start Training” at the top right-hand corner. In minutes, you’ll have thousands of color pairings to choose from.
Pricing
Khroma is completely free to use with no limits whatsoever.
Tips for using Khroma
- To use any of the generated colors in your design, click the details icon at the top right of the color square and click the hex code to copy it.
- To ensure that the AI only suggests colors with sufficient color contrast, go to settings at the top right corner of the screen. In the pop-up window, toggle the ‘Never fail WCAG’ switch to ON. This will block any color pairing suggestions that don’t meet WCAG standards.
UI design — Galileo AI
When it’s time to bring your ideas to life, AI can jumpstart the process by generating multiple UI design concepts. One tool that does this well is Galileo AI, an AI-powered tool that generates UI designs for websites, apps, and other digital products.
You can generate UI design with Galileo AI by entering a text prompt or uploading an image.
Here are the mockups Galileo generated for the text prompt:
Design a mobile banking app with features such as account balance display, transaction history, funds transfer, and bill payments.
Pricing
Galileo AI’s pricing starts at $16/month for the standard plan (1,200 credits). The pro plan costs $32/month and gives you 3,000 credits. If you need to test the waters before making a financial commitment, its free plan gives you access to 150 credits.
Tips for using Galileo AI
- Be specific when describing your project. The more information you provide, the better the generated designs will align with your vision.
- Use Galileo’s feedback feature to refine the output designs and ensure they meet your expectations.
Bottom line
AI tools are quickly becoming essential co-pilots in design. As new tools keep springing up, it’s important to know which ones are worth adding to your tool stack, and at what stage of your design process. That is why this guide is here to help you.
By breaking down the best AI tools for each phase of the UX design process — user research, ideation, wireframing, color generation, and UI design — you can make informed decisions about which tools to leverage.
While you can’t rely solely on these tools for your design work (at least not yet), you can unlock new levels of efficiency and creativity by incorporating them into your UX design workflow.
