Designing an AI-Powered Automation System


Designing an AI-Powered Automation System

by Jeff Humble


Dear Reader,

This week, I want to share something I use behind the scenes.

I want to share something very nerdy that I've been working on πŸ€“

It's an automation system that I'm using to experiment with AI.

If you've ever used a tool like Zapier, then you might like this sort of thing.

I built it with Discord and Activepieces, and it's completely free. It looks like this:

Here are some of the use cases:

  • Work Automation - a productivity tool for solopreneurs, freelancers, or anyone who wants to manage their work outside of email
  • Research Operations - a dedicated space to manage all of your interview scheduling, feedback forms, and continuous discovery
  • Tracking Projects - a dedicated channel to get everyone on your team or project involved where you can track progress or metrics
  • Community Hub - a dedicated platform for a specific craft or group that can share updates, tasks, and culture

If you've been having AI anxiety, I can tell you from personal experience fiddling with tools and automating stuff will make you feel better.

And becoming the automation expert at your company certainly won't hurt your career!

This is a new type of content for this newsletter, so please comment or reply if you liked it!

​

​

​

​

​Source​

​

​

This AI tool called Relume is gaining popularity. It's interesting because it does for wireframing what Uizard does for high-fidelity mockups. With a simple prompt, you can generate a wireframe that will export into Figma or Webflow.

Every aspect of the product design process seems to be slowly getting a dedicated AI tool. What do you think? Would you use a prompt-based AI tool to generate a wireframe or a sitemap?

​


​

COURSE: Defining UX Strategy
​
Learn to design a winning strategy that aligns design with business.
​Next cohort: Feb. 16-Mar. 30, 2026​
​
Join the Waitlist​
​Early bird pricing launches Jan. 9th!


COURSE: Facilitating Workshops

Learn to turn meetings into momentum and clear decisions.​
​
Next cohort: March 23–April 30, 2026​
​
Buy a Seat​
​Only 6 Regular seats left!

​

​

​

​

Until next time! βœŒοΈπŸ€–

​

Jeff Humble
​UX Strategist & Co-Founder
​
The Fountain Institute

​

​

The Fountain Institute

The Fountain Institute is an independent online school that teaches advanced UX & product skills.

Read more from The Fountain Institute

Title of Newsletter in Titlecase By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, Before we jump into new ideas for the year ahead, we wanted to pause for a moment. If your inbox was anything like ours last year, there’s a good chance you missed a few newsletters. So instead of sending another new idea right away, we put together a curated catch-up, a handful of pieces from 2025 that capture the questions we kept returning to. If you only read a few things from us last year, these are a good place to start. 🧠...

What Can't AI Do in Design in 2026 By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, If you work in design, your feeds are probably saying the same two things on repeat: Here’s everything AI can do for you, and Here’s why you should be terrified. Most of that conversation focuses on tools and job titles: β€œWill designers be replaced?” β€œWhich roles are safe?” It makes for good headlines, but it’s not how the work actually changes in real life. A few months ago, walking to my studio listening to a Planet Money...

Does the Double Diamond make sense for AI-enabled teams? by Jeff Humble Dear Reader, For twenty years, the Double Diamond has been our north star. Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver. It's elegant. It's teachable. It's in every junior's UX case study. And it made sense…when it was created. All that upfront research made economic sense when coding was the most expensive part of the process. Better to get it right before handoff because it's expensive for engineering to make changes later. But...