Raluca Budiu is Senior Director, Data Strategy, at Nielsen Norman Group, where she uses her data-analysis expertise to drive strategic decisions. She also serves as editor for the articles published on NNgroup.com. Raluca has coauthored many NN/g reports, as well as the book Mobile Usability. She holds a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University.
UX faced instability in 2025 from layoffs, hiring freezes, and AI hype; now, the field is stabilizing, but differentiation and business impact are vital.
iOS 26’s visual language obscures content instead of letting it take the spotlight. New (but not always better) design patterns replace established conventions.
AI-simulated users can fill in missing data and predict population-level trends. They perform better when they are based on extensive contextual information.
A digital twin is a genAI-based model of a particular individual that can be used to predict both individual and population-level preferences and behaviors.
UX ranks among top fields adopting AI, mostly in writing, design, and coding tasks — though complex or human-centric UX activities remain largely AI-free
