#183 - The Best Ways to Use AI in UX Research with Laura Klein of NN/g

#183 - The Best Ways to Use AI in UX Research with Laura Klein of NN/g

Author: User Interviews February 17, 2026 Duration: 48:09

Erin and Ben chat with Laura Klein, Principal Experience Specialist at Nielsen Norman Group, about the practical realities of AI in user research. Laura teaches a class on AI for researchers and brings a refreshingly balanced perspective to cut through the hype. She explains why those "five simple prompts that will change your life" are mostly nonsense and shares where AI actually works well versus where researchers need to proceed with extreme caution.

Laura also shares her green, yellow, and red light framework for AI adoption. She champions AI for tasks like transcription and meta-analysis of old research data, while warning against using it for synthesis and insights generation without serious human oversight. The conversation explores how AI can help teams move faster without sacrificing quality, the importance of collaborative analysis sessions, and why junior researchers need extra guidance when using these tools.

This episode offers practical guidance for any researcher trying to separate AI reality from the marketing promises flooding their inbox.

Highlights

  • 07:07 Green light, yellow light, red light framework
  • 11:59 Framework for deciding when to use AI
  • 21:06 Will AI change the researcher role
  • 31:23 Focus on what AI makes possible
  • 35:17 Skills for advocating against AI hype
  • 42:07 AI makes things that look like insights

Resources


Awkward Silences is a conversation about the human side of building things. Hosts Erin May and Carol Guest, both VPs at User Interviews, don't just talk about theory-they get into the messy, real-world practice of talking to users and making sense of what they say. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the craft of user research, featuring candid chats with the practitioners who do this work every day. You'll hear stories about navigating tricky interviews, the weight of interpreting qualitative data, and how genuine understanding directly shapes better products and smarter business decisions. This isn't a dry lecture; it's a geeky, relatable dive into the questions and quiet moments that define UX research. The Awkward Silences podcast lives in the intersection of technology and business, focusing on the people and processes that connect them. Listen for practical insights, empathetic strategies, and the occasional shared laugh about the inevitable fumbles that come with trying to understand anyone. It’s for anyone who believes that building effectively starts with listening well.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Awkward Silences
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