#111 The Death of Navigation – Are We Designing Ourselves Out of a Job?
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Hello and welcome to the future of UX, the podcast where we explore the trends, the challenges and sometimes even some ethical dilemmas shaping the future of design. I'm Patricia Reines and in each episode we dive into the intersection of UX, technology and the future. So you can stay ahead of the curve. Today we are talking about something that could completely change UX as we know it. What

What happens to your X-Design when there is no more navigation? For decades, UX designers have focused on creating clear navigation systems: menus, categories, filters, search bars. But AI is changing the game. JGPT, for example, can generate answers instantly without users browsing for them. Amazon should suggest products before you even search. Or Spotify creates playlists for you instead of making you browse music.

And the big question for today is: If AI knows what users want before they ask, is traditional navigation dead? Will browsing disappear completely? And the big one: If AI assistants handle interactions for users, what's left for your ex-designers to do? I would say, let's dive right in! And let's get started with how AI is killing traditional navigation.

The story of Google search and the Google search evolution. Think about how we used to find information online. 1999, you went to Yahoo. You clicked through nested categories. You manually browse for what you needed. A couple of years later, like 10 years later or so, 2010, Google search became dominant. You type, you ask something, you get answer. 2024,

We have AI-powered search, like Google Gemini or ChatGPT, means you don't even have to search anymore. AI just gives you the answer. Let's have a look at an example, Google's zero-click searches. In 2023, over 50% of Google searches ended with a click. Why?

Because Google already provided the answer in the search result, so the user didn't really need to click anywhere.

So what does it mean for your X designers? Users aren't navigating through layers of menus anymore and AI delivers the most relevant information instantly. So the traditional role of X in structuring content and guiding users through flows is slightly, slightly disappearing. So the key takeaway here is the less users actually have to click,

The less navigation design matters. We are seeing that currently we are moving from hierarchical manual navigation to AI driven predictive experiences. Another example is Spotify's Discover Weekly versus traditional playlists. All Music UX works like this. You search for an artist, you build a playlist manually by dragging and dropping the songs to your playlist.

The new Music UX works like this: Spotify's AI creates a playlist for you based on your mood, based on your preferences, based on all the things that Spotify or that the AI knows about you. Another example is Amazon's shipping experience.

Amazon's AI predict what you will buy before you even search for it. And in some cases, they ship items to contribution centers before you even place the order. Just based on all the things that they know about the different users and where and when users might order something. So we're seeing an interesting UX shift.

Users no longer need to search, filter or browse and AI will do that for them. Although currently they are still searching and filtering and browsing, we are looking a little bit ahead. And instead of navigation, the challenge that we are currently having is trust. So will users accept AI's choices?

So UX designers must focus more on how AI communicates these recommendations, not just how users find content. So the future of UX isn't about helping users navigate. It's about helping them trust AI's decision. Think about how people interact with you today.

At CNN, for example, users went on a homepage like CNN or whatever. They browse categories. They selected an article. They read the article. And how does it work or how could this potentially work in the future? Users see headlines, maybe in Google Discover, in Apple News or social feeds without ever visiting the homepage. So we have some providers that are already curating content for you.

Another example is when you compare TikTok, which is very, very modern, also the UX, compared to more traditional platforms like YouTube, for example. On YouTube, you search for videos, you navigate through channels. You also have lots of recommendations on your For You page, on your homepage, where you see that.

TikTok works very different. They have a very different approach. The AI algorithm just shows you content you would never search for, but it chooses the content based on your past behavior. So it's all AI driven, not the people you follow, not the people you interacted with, but completely new content. Okay, so now let's come to this episode's sponsor, Wix Studio.

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That's WixStudio.com. So what does it mean for your X designers? We are currently moving toward stream-based, algorithmic-driven content delivery. And the future of your X isn't about organizing navigation menus. It's about designing these AI-powered discovery systems. So browsing is slightly dying. Discovery is taking over.

And if AI predicts what users want, what role do UX designers play? Let's have a little deep dive into that and focus on three very important topics. First is, I already mentioned that, UX must shift from navigation to orchestration. Let's call it orchestration. Instead of designing menus and categories, UX will focus much more on designing how AI presents information.

So how do we ensure AI-generated content feels transparent and unbiased? This is something that we still need to figure out. Topic number two is balancing automation and control. So although users want efficiency, they also want agency. So don't fully automate everything, but give users the control. So when Google Maps suggests a faster route, should users trust it or double-check it?

Should Google Maps automatically change the route without asking or should it double check with the user first? Like, should we switch routes now? Of course, always double checking. And number three is trust and explainability when it comes to these core UX skills. When AI makes choices for users, UX must ensure those choices feel understandable and they feel fair.

So when Amazon should suggest a product, does it explain why? Probably not. And UX is not disappearing. It's evolving from navigation design to AI trust design. And I think this is super important when we think about future products. Let's have a look at a little bit more of an extreme angle. In 10 years, will users ever manually navigate again? Or will AI handle everything?

What could happen? So AI can already anticipate user needs faster than manual navigation. AI learns preferences and behavior, making navigation more or less obsolete. And users already trust recommendations more than manual search. Look at Spotify or TikTok or Amazon. So instead of typing and browsing,

You just tell your AI what you need. And your UX is just a conversation with an AI agent. No clicking required. Maybe a little bit, but not as much. So the key takeaway here is that we as UX designers must also think a little bit our role in the world where users don't click, where they just receive. So how does flows like these look?

So, a little summary: Navigation might be dying, but UX is more important than ever.

What do you think? Users will ever completely stop navigating or will manual control always be necessary? Very curious to hear your thoughts. Feel free to join the conversation. Follow me on Instagram at ux.patricia or the podcast at futureofuxpodcast. We are also on LinkedIn. We have our own LinkedIn page for the future of UX where we share updates and news and all about the future of UX and design.

Thank you so much for listening and I hope to see you again in our next episode.