UX Writing has taken a hit recently — more than a few companies have laid off UX writers/content designers in the last few months.
According to some UX Writing Hub findings, 12% of staff in product & design departments across tech companies in the US were laid off in 2022.
So, is the tech bubble bursting? I’m not so sure about that, but as an international community, I believe there are lessons here for us all.
First of all, let’s take a deep, collective breath — this is not the first crisis in history.
In fact, it’s not even the first or biggest tech crisis.
The tech bubble first burst in the early 2000s. And sure, Pets.com and others didn’t survive. But you know who did?
Companies like Amazon, who innovated, matured, and then went on to thrive.
From the ashes of the dot-com crash emerged some of the world’s most successful companies: Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Airbnb, to name a few. Those companies turn crisis into opportunity.
Then, a few years later in 2008, we saw the Great Recession, which coincided with the smartphone revolution.
Companies like Apple, Uber, Netflix, Instagram, Spotify, and others helped the economy recover in the 2010s, all while changing the way we work, play, and communicate.
Again we saw a pattern: crisis → opportunity → innovation → revolution.
So even though the tech market is currently taking a hit, history teaches us that we should look for the opportunity that’s hidden in the downturn. And what is that opportunity? You can probably guess — it’s just two letters long:
AI
There’s a reason everyone is talking about it. Some because they think it’s going to replace us — but I don’t think that’s true.
The real story here is the opportunity. Just like with the dot-com crash and the Great Recession, those companies and individuals that use the new technology to innovate will be the ones to lead the recovery.
That means we, the international UX community of writers, designers, and creators, have an opportunity — one we’d better not miss. It’s either learn to use AI, or be left behind.
So, what’s next for the UX Writing Hub and for me personally?
1. UX writing projects.
Since hiring has slowed, our first priority is to help our students. We’re taking on more agency projects and hiring our top student talent to work on those projects. And, of course, we’re using AI tools to help get the job done better and faster. We’re learning a lot and having tons of fun along the way. (So let me know if your company is interested in a project!)
2. The AI Writing Lab.
Starting next month, every certificate UX writing program we offer will include in-depth lessons on AI writing tools — we’ll even give a taste in our free course. In the meantime, join our free AI for UX event where I’ll talk about how to incorporate AI tools into your UX writing and design process.
I’m going to keep promoting these fields (UX Writing and AI), speaking at different conferences about the business impact of UX writing and exploring how we can use AI to leverage our process. I’ll be at UX Istanbul, Product Design Week London (shout out to Isobel Crawford at and the team, UX Nordic ApS, World Usability Congress, Info 2023, and more. And, we’re also potentially organizing our own conference for the Fall!
3. AI Makers Lab.
I’m building a side project called the AI Makers Lab, which will combine some other AI passions like creating stunning artwork and building business operations no-code and AI together. In the meantime, I’ve built a free generative AI art course that’s available now.
You can look at the present as worrying and the future as uncertain. Or, you can find the opportunity and excitement in both.
I hope you’ll join me for this ride — I for one will be doing my best to create opportunities for us as a global community.
I choose excitement.
