UX Capabilities Show Maturity Across Traditional and Emerging Areas

Traditional UX foundations remain strong across organizations. UX research leads at 47%, followed closely by UX/UI design at 45% and strategy at 44%. This tight clustering suggests most organizations have established the fundamental triad of research, design, and strategic thinking that defines mature UX practices.

‍The presence of AI-enhanced UX design and research capabilities in 40% of organizations stands out as particularly significant. This puts AI integration nearly on par with traditional core functions, indicating rapid adoption of augmented capabilities rather than tentative experimentation. Organizations are embedding AI tools directly into existing workflows rather than treating them as separate initiatives.

Content and service capabilities show solid penetration, with UX content writing present in 37% of organizations and service design in 35%. Interaction design (33%) and prototyping and testing (31%) represent the next tier, suggesting these functions are either outsourced more frequently or considered specialized rather than essential.

Emerging and specialized capabilities cluster at lower adoption rates. Voice and conversational UX design are present in 27% of organizations, while accessibility expertise is found in 26%. Augmented and virtual reality UX capabilities, at 21%, represent the most specialized end of current in-house capabilities.