Podcast Summary: Insights Unlocked

Episode: Design for AI or disappear with UserTesting's Mike Mace
Release Date: December 8, 2025
Host: Nathan Isaacs
Guest: Mike Mace, Executive Business Strategist at UserTesting

Episode Overview

This episode centers on how AI—particularly conversational interfaces—is rapidly transforming digital experience design, product strategy, and customer interactions. Mike Mace, a veteran in the tech industry and innovation lead at UserTesting, argues that the most profound impacts of AI are happening right now, not years from now. He calls on UX, CX, product, and marketing leaders to radically rethink their approaches, moving beyond AI as a "feature" to embrace wholesale paradigm shifts in customer engagement and digital workflows.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI in Digital Transformation: Not the Distant Future, but Now

• Mike Mace's Perspective (03:10, 04:09):
  • The current conversational AI revolution is akin to historic paradigm shifts (like the introduction of the graphical user interface), which wiped out industry leaders who failed to adapt.
  • Many companies wrongly fixate on either the latest AI tools or speculative long-term futures; instead, they should urgently address what's changing today:

    "We're actually losing sight of the most impactful part of AI, which is how just what we've got in AI today ... changes the rules of success for most companies." (03:29, Mike Mace)

  • The shift to conversational AI interfaces will render today's customer experiences largely obsolete if not addressed.

2. Analogy to Historical Tech Shifts

• Obsolescence Warning (07:04):
  • Mike likens the current state of software companies to "dinosaurs after the asteroid hit": outwardly fine, but doomed if they don't adapt.

    "We software companies are like the dinosaurs after the asteroid hit the Earth. And there's a latency period ... but ... that tidal wave is coming and if you aren't ahead of it, it will overwhelm you." (07:04, Mike Mace)

  • Adding AI as a feature isn’t enough: total rethinking of customer interaction models is needed.

3. Conversational UI & the Future of Design

• UI Evolution (08:21–09:44):

  • The interface of the future may minimize or even eliminate traditional UI components (e.g., buttons, sliders); instead, AI conversations will drive most user interactions.

    "I'm not saying the buttons and menus will completely go away, but more and more we are going to be reasoning with and partnering with our computers." (06:13, Mike Mace)

  • Nonetheless, some interactions (like graphic adjustments) may still benefit from direct UI controls, so hybrid approaches will emerge.

• Personalization & Emotional Connection (10:09, 13:18):

  • Users interact with conversational AI as they do with people, inferring subtleties like tone, respect, and friendliness. These perceptions deeply affect trust and brand affinity.

    "People react to a conversation with a computer the same way they react to a conversation with a human being ... They will form sweeping emotional judgments about the bot." (10:37, Mike Mace)

• Brand Voice Integration (13:18):

  • Aligning AI personality with brand voice is crucial. For example, a snarky persona (like Jack in the Box’s mascot) might delight customers in marketing but backfire in customer support contexts.

    "A support bot should not sound like a marketing bot." (13:18, Mike Mace)

4. New Imperatives for Testing and Research

• Testing AI Experiences (09:59–12:39):

  • Standard usability testing remains relevant, but new criteria emerge: tone, personality, credibility, and discoverability become just as vital as functional accuracy.
  • Customer discovery in prompt-based systems is a challenge: Unlike graphical interfaces, conversational interfaces often lack clear affordances (users can’t "see" what actions are possible).

    "...you have to test your conversational interface for personality, for credibility, and also for discoverability." (11:36, Mike Mace)

• Practical Recommendations (17:11):

  • Start now by running simple tests using public AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT), giving users business-relevant tasks and observing their behavior and expectations.
  • Use these learnings to start prototyping new interaction paradigms.

    "...just start running some tests where you ask people to go to ChatGPT ... and do tasks that are related to your business..." (17:20, Mike Mace)

• Urgency and Opportunity (17:11–18:39):

  • Begin this exploration proactively—if you wait for these paradigms to become table stakes, disruptors will already be established.

5. Risks and Broader Implications

• Infinite Customizability—and Copyability (16:20):

  • AI-powered conversational interfaces are both infinitely customizable (great for customer experience) and infinitely copyable (presenting business risks).

    "...that infinitely adjustable, infinitely customizable, infinitely responsive bot that can have an ongoing conversation with every customer ... is the dream of every marketer ... On the other hand, we've got to actually implement it and we need to get cracking now." (15:32, Mike Mace)

• Organizational Silos Must Become Obsolete (13:18):

  • Engineering, product, and branding teams must collaborate deeply as conversational interfaces blend technical function with brand personality.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Adaptation & Urgency

  "The explosion, that tidal wave is coming and if you aren't out ahead of it, it will overwhelm you. And the time to prep is now, while you've still got some time to figure it out." (07:08, Mike Mace)

• On the Conversational AI Opportunity

  "Am I worried about my job going away? No. There's so much to do, guys. We should all be approaching it this way, like lots of work for us to do and it's going to be really exciting and fun in my opinion." (09:37, Mike Mace)

• On Brand Personality in AI

  "Most developers are not used to thinking in terms of what's the brand personality of this company... We need to bring that stuff together." (13:44, Mike Mace)

• On Testing Paradigms

  "You have to test your conversational interface for personality, for credibility, and also for discoverability." (11:36, Mike Mace)

• On Proactive Experimentation

  "It's all exploring and thinking and figuring out how does this new paradigm work. And there's no right answer. You do have some time, but what you don't want to do is sit around and wait 18 months..." (17:42, Mike Mace)

Suggested Actions & Further Resources

• Start AI UX Research Now

  • Task employees or test users with scenarios using ChatGPT or similar tools to discover new interaction patterns (17:20).
  • Prototype and mock up conversational experiences and observe real user behavior.

• Consider Brand Voice Early

  • Engage design, product, and brand teams in defining and testing your bot's personality.

• Explore UserTesting Resources

  • Mike recommends UserTesting’s in-depth white paper on effective AI (17:11).
  • Reach out to Mike directly for conversation and questions via LinkedIn and email (18:52).

Important Timestamps

• 03:01 – Most critical impacts of AI are happening right now, not in the speculative future.
• 04:35 – Warning: Don't just bolt on AI; redesign interaction paradigms.
• 07:04 – "Dinosaurs after the asteroid" analogy for incumbent companies.
• 09:44 – Personalization, human-style interaction, and job security in AI’s new workflows.
• 10:09 – Shifting usability testing approaches for conversational AI.
• 13:18 – Integrating brand personality into conversational AI.
• 15:11 – Marketing and support personas converging in chatbot interfaces.
• 17:11 – Practical steps: Start testing with current AI tools today.
• 18:52 – How to connect with Mike Mace for thought leadership and Q&A.

Tone and Style

The episode is engaging, candid, and laced with urgency and optimism. Mike Mace is direct yet encouraging, channeling decades of industry insight to serve up both a warning and a roadmap for the future. The conversation balances big-picture strategy with actionable next steps, with a tone that energizes digital leaders to act rather than overthink.

For more, check out links and show notes at usertesting.com/podcast, and connect with Mike Mace on LinkedIn.