Philip Burgess: the best AI UX researcher tools for 2026

Philip Burgess published a practitioner’s overview of AI tools for UX research in 2026, organized into purpose-built research tools and general-purpose AI platforms that researchers are adapting. The purpose-built category includes Dovetail for AI analysis and insight synthesis, UserTesting for scaled behavioral insights, Maze for AI-assisted research design, and PlaybookUX for automated qualitative analysis.

The overview is useful as a snapshot of the current tool landscape, particularly because it distinguishes between tools built specifically for research and general-purpose AI tools that researchers are adapting. This distinction matters because purpose-built tools offer research-specific features like source tracing, participant metadata, and codebook management, while general-purpose tools offer more flexibility but require researchers to build their own workflows.

For research teams doing annual tool evaluations, this article provides a starting point for understanding what is available and how different tools position themselves. The article frames the current moment as a shift from asking “should we use AI” to “which AI tools will strengthen our practice,” which reflects where most research teams have arrived in their thinking.