Pivot’s Guiding AI Principles

At Pivot, we don’t believe AI will replace human creativity. It can’t. What it can do; what we use it for; is to extend the reach of our thinking, sharpen our tools, and accelerate the pace at which we solve problems. We treat AI not as a solution, but as a partner in our process; one applied with care, purpose, and a clear-eyed commitment to human-centered design.

Informed Design is our approach. It’s how we connect research to people, and design to outcomes. It’s also how we shape the role of AI in our work. Without a global framework to govern AI’s use in design, we’ve chosen to define our own. Drawing on our own research and insights from the industry’s most responsible adopters, we’ve established a set of principles to guide how, when, and why we use AI.

These principles aren't rules for future use; they are values we act on today.

OUR PRINCIPLES

1. People are our starting point and our finish line.

Design exists to serve people. We use AI to deepen our understanding of users and their needs, not to distance ourselves from them. We prioritize direct relationships, build trust through dialogue, and lean into research that listens before it automates.

We protect our clients’ trust and IP as fiercely as we protect our own. We never feed confidential insights into tools that train on data. If AI is used to support synthesis or search for patterns, we do so in controlled ways, with stripped-back content and strict guardrails for privacy and transparency.

Informed Design means keeping humanity at the center… always.

2. AI must reflect our values

We approach AI the same way we approach design: as a collaborative effort grounded in thoughtful exploration and human insight.

We use AI when it deepens understanding, sparks new ideas, or strengthens our ability to solve problems with care and precision. But we won’t use it as a shortcut. We don’t hand over decisions, and we don’t compromise the integrity of the process. AI should expand our perspective, not narrow it.

We recognize that while technology promises speed or scale, it does so at a cost. So, we remain mindful of the energy behind the tools we use and the systems we contribute to. Efficiency only matters if it’s thoughtful. Innovation only matters if it’s responsible. 

We’re intentional about how we integrate these tools. We recognize that AI is fallible and harbours  biases. So, we test outputs , question them, and remain alert to their blind spots. When something feels unclear, we dig deeper. When something seems efficient, we ask, efficient for whom? We work to ensure our insights remain human-centered and culturally sensitive. 

This isn’t about chasing every new feature. It’s about using technology in a way that enhances the experience of everyone involved, from the people we design for to the people we work with.

The result? Design that’s imaginative, informed, and grounded in real-world impact.

3. Tangible uses, purposeful application.

We only use AI when it can meaningfully support, enhance or make our Informed Design process more efficient and insightful. Here are some examples of how we apply AI:

• AI-Enhanced Prompts: We craft prompts that reflect a researcher’s mindset, using AI to flag bias, identify gaps, and spotlight outliers.
• Persona Development: After collaborative persona workshops, we may use AI—depending on the client or project needs–for targeted secondary research. All AI-sourced additions are clearly labeled, cited, and validated through user testing.
• Synthesis and Summary: AI helps us process large datasets quickly, so we can spend more time interpreting, prioritizing, and translating insights into action.
• Pattern Recognition: Clustering user behavior is exceptionally time consuming when done manually. What takes hours can be done by AI in seconds, freeing us to spend more time analyzing the nuances  that inform richer personas, more relevant features, and more thoughtful journeys.

We apply each of these methods with a critical lens. AI helps surface the signals, but our team digs deeper to draw the conclusions.

4. We stay current. Our clients stay confident.

AI’s landscape is evolving. So is our practice. We monitor regulatory changes, follow emerging frameworks, and continuously refine how we engage with these technologies. This isn't just for compliance. It’s how we stay accountable to our clients. It’s how we stay ahead of the curve.

We work in partnership with our clients, keeping them informed of how and when we’re using AI. Transparency isn’t a tactic; it’s a trust-builder. Our clients work with us because we bring clarity, empathy, strategy and creativity to complex problems. AI doesn’t change that. It strengthens it.

Informed Design. Intelligent Tools. Human Results.

In a world where speed often outruns strategy, we choose to move deliberately. The principles we state here govern that deliberation and direct us to use AI to amplify what makes design matter: empathy, insight, and creative rigor. Our goal isn’t to automate experience design. It’s to elevate it.

This is how we work. This is how we lead.