The design industry is at an inflection point.

Traditionally framed as systems vs. humans, the paradigm has now shifted to humans vs. AI agents. Design agents are purpose-built — excelling at one task with remarkable precision. Together, humans and agents form a new collaborative model that amplifies creativity, accelerates delivery, and unlocks new possibilities for value creation.

In this talk, the Manish explores how human designers are increasingly leveraging specialized non-human agents to drive front-office transformation across customer experience, marketing, sales, and customer service. Imagine proposals that no longer present just a team of designers, but a human + agent ecosystem — with clearly defined roles, co-creation strategies, and even innovative pricing models for this blended workforce.