Nielsen Norman Group Expands User Experience To Experience Design
Nielsen Norman Group is shifting focus from traditional user experience to experience design, according to Nielsen Norman Group. This change is driven by the increasing role of AI agents acting on behalf of humans.
Original reporting · nngroup.com
Original: “Experience Design: Dropping the “User” from “User Experience””
Read “Experience Design: Dropping the “User” from “User Experience”” at Nielsen Norman Group →
How this was written. Awesome B2B Design wrote this article with a language model from Nielsen Norman Group’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Nielsen Norman Group’s report
- Nielsen Norman Group is expanding the scope of user experience to experience design to include AI agents acting on behalf of humans.
- Experience design still centers on people's goals, but considers the role of AI agents in achieving those goals.
- Traditional UX topics, such as usability and accessibility, are still relevant in experience design.
Nielsen Norman Group reported a significant shift in the field of user experience, expanding its scope to experience design. This change is driven by the growing presence of AI agents that act on behalf of humans, according to Nielsen Norman Group.
The term 'user experience' was popularized by Don Norman in the 1990s to encompass all aspects of a person's interaction with a product. However, with the rise of AI, the field is evolving to include agents that interact with digital products on behalf of humans.
Experience design is a broader field that still centers on people's goals, but also considers the role of AI agents in achieving those goals. This shift is not a replacement of traditional UX, but rather an expansion of its scope to include new types of interactions.
The scope of experience design includes designing for humans interacting with digital products, agents using digital systems on behalf of people, and people and agents interacting with digital systems. Traditional UX topics, such as usability and accessibility, are still relevant, but new research questions arise when dealing with AI-enabled products.
AI agents raise new questions about when to act without human input, when to ask for clarification, and how to handle control and context. Qualitative research remains important, but new methods and protocols may be needed to address these questions.
The field of experience design is still rooted in human-centered design, prioritizing the goals, interests, and welfare of humans. Designing for agents is not about optimizing for agent success, but rather about ensuring that the human's goals are achieved.
Questions and answers
What is experience design?
Experience design is a broader field that encompasses all aspects of a person's interaction with a product, including the role of AI agents acting on their behalf.
Is traditional UX still relevant in experience design?
Yes, traditional UX topics, such as usability and accessibility, are still relevant in experience design, but new research questions arise when dealing with AI-enabled products.
What is the focus of experience design?
Experience design is still rooted in human-centered design, prioritizing the goals, interests, and welfare of humans.
