Designer roles × AI agents today

Japan GTM series. This week: In-house. I was recently invited to moderate AI Ops Meetup Tokyo hosted by AI Ops Manager Inc. The theme was “Designer roles × AI agents today.” Over 40 attendees joined, and the energy in the room was high.

In the Fireside Chat, I hosted Haruka Shimizu from PKSHA Technology and Narizuka san from Cloudbase, Inc. — both leading design at the forefront. Through the fireside format, the conversation went well beyond tools. It opened up into how to think about organizational design itself, and I came away with a lot of insights.

Design as organizational design

Design spans many domains — product design, communication design, service design, and more. Committing to and managing design at scale within an organization isn’t about surface-level visuals. It’s about organizational design. It requires a long-term perspective, and sometimes the altitude of executive-level thinking.

Being an in-house designer in a product organization demands a holistic point of view: brand, marketing & sales, product, business metrics, governance, and more. The importance of creating the conditions for good things to be made — whether for people or for agents — is growing.

Not just about tools or workflows. About designing and operating the communication between people and agents with a long-term perspective.

Expertise before agents

One discussion that stood out: the idea that experts in each domain — user research, visual design, design systems, and more — cultivate AI agent skills. Without experience-backed expertise and knowledge, you can’t develop people or skills.

In-house design organizations are growing in Japan’s large enterprises as well. I’m planning more talk events and gatherings around themes like this. Not just about tools or workflows — but about designing and operating the communication between people and agents with a long-term perspective.