The Digital Press

Generative AI design tools hold promise to improve creative workflows, but designers face challenges integrating AI effectively. This study explores how metacognitive support agents can help designers reflect and engage more deeply with AI-generated designs.

Why it matters: Metacognitive agents help designers create more feasible and thoughtful AI-assisted designs.

The big picture: Supporting reflection counters cognitive offloading, improving problem exploration and design quality.

Stunning stat: Designers with agent support produced more feasible designs compared to those without any support.

The stakes: Without metacognitive support, designers risk underspecifying problems and poor evaluation of AI-generated outcomes.