A Tale of Two Booms
Technology moves in waves, and two of the biggest we’ve seen are the Dot Com boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s and the AI boom of today. Both eras brought massive hype, billions of dollars in investment, and a flood of new products. However, the way UX fits into each era reveals a great deal about how design has evolved, and what lessons we need to carry forward.
The Dot Com Era: Shipping First, UX Later
In the late ’90s, the internet felt like uncharted territory. Companies rushed to “get online” before competitors. Websites sprouted overnight, often little more than digital brochures.
- Speed over Substance: Companies prioritized being live over being usable. “If you build it, they will come” was the mindset.
- Minimal UX Maturity: Few teams had dedicated UX designers. Visual design, copywriting, and navigation were often bolted together.
- Stakeholder-First: Leadership dictated what sites should look like, with little room for user research.
- Outcomes: Many sites were clunky, slow, and confusing, fueling the Dot Com bust as hype couldn’t sustain poor usability and weak business models.
The lesson: Technology alone isn’t enough. Without meaningful experience, the market will move on.
The AI Era: UX at the Center of Trust
Fast forward to today. AI is reshaping how we interact with technology, from chat interfaces to predictive assistants to generative tools. The difference this time? UX can’t be an afterthought.
- Trust is Fragile: AI is powerful but opaque. If the experience isn’t transparent and usable, users quickly lose confidence.
- UX as Translator: Designers play a new role: turning raw AI outputs into interfaces that feel human, contextual, and responsible.
- Personalization at Scale: Unlike static Dot Com sites, AI-powered products can adapt in real time. UX defines the guardrails so personalization feels empowering, not invasive.
- Higher Stakes: In healthcare, finance, and transportation, bad UX in AI isn’t just annoying, it can be dangerous.
The lesson: AI won’t succeed unless UX makes it understandable, trustworthy, and human-centered.
Comparing the Two Eras
- Driver
- Dot Com: Get online fast
- AI: Build trust and usability fast
- Role of UX
- Dot Com: Often ignored or bolted on
- AI: Core differentiator and risk mitigator
- User Expectation
- Dot Com: Just having access was novel
- AI: Users demand seamless, intuitive, trustworthy interactions
- Failure Mode
- Dot Com: Clunky websites, abandonment
- AI: Mistrust, misinformation, disengagement
- Opportunity
- Dot Com: Reach new audiences globally
- AI: Redefine how humans interact with technology itself
Why UX Matters More in the AI Era
In the Dot Com era, bad UX meant frustration. In the AI era, bad UX can mean misinformation, bias, privacy breaches, or safety risks. The stakes are higher, and so is the opportunity.
UX professionals today aren’t just designing interfaces. They’re designing relationships between humans and machines. That’s not hype, that’s responsibility.
Closing
The Dot Com boom gave us access to the web. The AI boom is giving us access to intelligence. Both needed design to unlock their real potential.
The difference now? We know better. We’ve lived through an era where speed crushed usability and hype outran reality. In the AI era, UX isn’t optional — it’s the foundation of adoption, trust, and long-term success.