The AI-Supported Design Research Process
Ann Conway
Founder & CEO of Amplify, helping leading brands use AI to transform their work
Lead rigorous design research with AI
If you’ve been experimenting with ChatGPT or Claude but aren’t sure you’re “doing it right,” this course is for you. You’ll learn how to use AI as a thought partner—not a replacement—so you can move faster without losing your unique value and judgment.
Over four weeks, you’ll develop your own end-to-end, AI-supported design process that defines exactly what to delegate to AI, what to lead yourself, and how to communicate that balance to clients, stakeholders, and peers.
Using Anthropic’s 4D framework (Delegation, Description, Discernment, Diligence), you’ll apply your process in a real research and strategy project, learning hands-on methods and tools at every stage—with twice-weekly live coaching.
You’ll leave with a ready-to-use toolkit: prompt templates, research checklists, and a Designer Value Statement that demonstrate your ability to use AI with rigor, ethics, and creativity.
What you’ll learn
You'll be able to run an AI-supported design process, choose the right tools and methods for the task, and assess and defend your insights.
Map your current design research workflow and identify where AI could add value.
Practice AI-supported methods at each stage of the design research process, from research guide to insights to storytelling.
Document the end-to-end process and methods for your own work, including what you'll do alone and where AI will be a thought partner.
Practice back-and-forth, iterative prompting techniques to push your ideas further, challenge assumptions and refine your outputs.
Compare human-led and AI-assisted synthesis methods to see where each adds the most value
Learn to align AI to your insights "source of truth" and build on it, rather than replace your work.
Practice cleaning and formatting interview transcripts to improve AI comprehension and output quality
Test your data setup in different AI tools to compare performance and ensure consistent analysis
Compare your manual synthesis with the same steps done by AI, and learn to test whether the model's analysis is in line with yours.
Learn prompting techniques to extract insights and needs, develop frameworks and personas, and support with evidence and quotes.
Practice starting on your own and using AI to push your thinking further, and starting with AI to spark your own insights synthesis.
Learn frameworks and criteria for evaluating the quality, traceability, and bias of AI-generated findings.
Practice cross-checking AI insights against original transcripts, quant data, or human synthesis
Build your own “AI Quality Checklist” to guide your future projects.
Articulate where and how the work should be divided between the researcher and AI, and your value leading the process.
Craft your personal Designer Value Statement to advocate for your role with teams and clients.
Practice communicating AI-supported insights with clarity, credibility, and impact to reinforce your value.
Learn directly from Ann
Ann Conway
Ann Conway
Founder & CEO of Amplify, helping leading brands use AI to transform their work
Who this course is for
Designers and strategists who feel pressure to “use AI” but want a structured way to integrate it responsibly without losing human insight.
Leaders who want to define an AI-supported design process their teams can follow consistently.
Practitioners who want to future-proof their roles by learning to advocate for the value of human-led design in AI-driven organizations.
What's included
Live sessions
Learn directly from Ann Conway in a real-time, interactive format.
Lifetime access
Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.
Weekly live demo
Watch as we walk through each week's course activities live - including AI-supported methods for research prep, synthesis, concept generation, and more.
Weekly office hours
An hour every week to ask questions, get advice, and share your work and insights with your peers.
Community of peers
Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.
Applied AI Resource Library
The Methods Playbook (23 step by step AI-supported design research + strategy methods), prompt tear sheets, and your Personal AI Toolkit.
Certificate of completion
Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.
Maven Guarantee
This course is backed by the Maven Guarantee. Students are eligible for a full refund up until the halfway point of the course.
Syllabus
8 lessons • 12 projects
Week 1
Free lesson
Inside the AI-Supported Research Process
Real AI-supported design processes
Two step-by-step case studies of how we integrated AI into real client projects, including methods, tools and outputs.
Proven methods for every step of the process
Take home a playbook of 24 AI-supported research + design methods to use now,
Best practices for quality + accuracy
Guidance on how to verify AI output, avoid common pitfalls, and ensure insights remain high-quality and defensible.
A framework for human-AI collaboration
See where AI can add speed or scale, and where your skills remain critical and irreplaceable.
Schedule
Live sessions
2 hrs / week
Projects
3 hrs / week
Success stories
- My partner and I were thrilled to participate in your webinar. It's one of the most valuable sessions I've been in in years, and immediately changed the way we're working. THANK YOU. We were both incredibly impressed with the range of strategic to practical content and the wealth of resources you shared.
Sara F.
VP, Design + Product - I had the pleasure of attending Ann’s Designing Alongside AI webinar and was deeply impressed—not only by the rich content and thoughtful structure, but also by her generosity in making these insights broadly accessible. Ann went above and beyond by sharing materials and refer
Malini R.
Product Design Leader - Ann’s webinar was one of the most useful sessions I’ve attended. Clear, practical, and well-structured, it offered a thoughtful playbook and resource list that I’ve already returned to more than once. Ann has a real gift for making complex ideas actionable and accessible. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to navigate design in the age of AI.
Lili N.
Product Strategist & Researcher - I recently attended Ann’s session Designing Alongside AI and found it both highly relevant and practical. As a designer and researcher, I was seeking a clearer picture of the evolving AI-integrated research horizon, and her webinar provided exactly that. Ann’s insights into human-centered AI were particularly valuable, highlighting how designers ca
Anwer A.
Assistant Professor + Designer