Is AI Design Going to Put Traditional Designers Out of Business?

AI design is cool but far enough from being perfect that it’s not ready for mass adoption.

Creating this image in Jasper Art of a post-apocalyptic squirrel was fun, but I’m not going to use it for anything beyond generating a half-hearted nose-exhale laugh as I sit here in my office...

Yes, many people (myself included) are using it instead of things we used to pay for, but we are still outliers.

We can create our own royalty-free images instead of buying ones from places like iStockimages or by hiring real human designers.

Most people, though, are not doing this.

Even those of us who are using AI design are not 100% converted to AI-only content.

It isn’t a market disrupter.

Yet…

For the next year or two, companies like Shutterstock, Getty Images, and the like will be fine. Freelance designers and the 3rd party marketplaces like Fiverr that market their services will be fine.

However, as AI gets more advanced and the average person learns how to use prompts to create images that they can use in place of paid stock photos or designs from professional creators, things will change tremendously.

AI hasn’t even scratched the surface for media output either. AI-generated video is knocking on the door, and it will become a real replacement for traditional b-roll or custom video projects sooner rather than later.

Also, AI design will not be wildly expensive. There is already a race to the bottom on pricing, and companies like Canva have quietly added AI design to their Pro accounts for no additional charge.

So, be prepared to adopt AI into your current design business.

The traditional media options aren’t ever going to go away entirely. They are, however, going to lose a large share of the industry’s revenue to AI and to the creators who adopt it.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. AI design has actually already created new markets for creatives. AI still requires human inputs, and people have begun to sell their AI design prompts and are making a surprisingly nice amount of cash doing it.

Anyone who creates or sells designs, photos, or videos must be ready to pivot. Be ready to change to new methods of monetization and AI adoption.

How that looks is up to you, but please, don’t be caught off guard when AI design starts to pull from the profit pool.

Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are about AI design and the future of selling images, videos, and creative media that can soon be created royalty free by AI.