The Interior DesignHer Podcast
real-world interior design business education
AI for Interior Designers: Jenna Gaidusek & Laurie Laizure
AI for Interior Designers: Jenna Gaidusek & Laurie Laizure
Interior Designers Are Training AI to Replace Them (And Don't Even Know It)
In today's episode of the Interior DesignHer podcast, I'm sharing clips & commentary from what I consider the best interior design business podcast episode of the year - Jenna Gaidusek's conversation with Laurie Laizure about AI and interior design.
Far too many interior designers are getting caught up in AI hysteria while missing the real opportunities.
Jenna and Laurie break down everything from AI influencers to intellectual property theft to the authenticity crisis facing our industry. I'm adding my commentary to expand on their insights, especially around why interior designers need to stop giving their expertise away to AI companies.
NotebookLM for Interior Designers - AI Dedicated to Your Business
As a residential interior design business owner, you pour your heart into creating beautiful, functional spaces. But let's be honest, the "business" part—the endless emails, scattered notes, forgotten details, and the constant pressure to find new clients and manage projects perfectly—can sometimes dim that passion. What if you had a brilliant, tireless assistant who remembered everything you ever told it about your clients, your projects, and your business? An assistant that could instantly summarize, brainstorm, and even help you write, all without you having to understand a single piece of tech jargon?
Meet Google NotebookLM. It's not just a fancy note-taking app; it’s your personal AI assistant that learns only from the information you give it. This means no random internet noise, just insights tailored to your unique business, your clients, and your dreams. Think of it as centralizing your entire business brain into one smart, searchable hub, designed to help you turn information overload into organized action.
AI Will Never Replace Interior Designers
AI Will Never Replace Interior Designers
10 Reasons LLMs are Inferior to You
Your anxiety about AI replacing interior designers is backwards. While design industry publications & interior design “influencers” keep pushing "Will AI take your job?" think pieces, the designers I counsel are discovering how AI limitations are getting exposed by our own human software.
The shift is happening fast. Tech experts are building AI tools that generate room layouts and inspiration boards. Meanwhile, your irreplaceable human capabilities are becoming more valuable, not less.
Most design industry advice focuses on the wrong threat:
Warning you about AI replacing human creativity (it can't replicate your spatial intelligence)
Telling you to fear ChatGPT taking your clients (it can't manage renovation crises)
Having you compete with AI tools instead of leveraging your irreplaceable advantages
Convincing you that technology advancement threatens your premium positioning
Stop worrying. AI is going to change your business…for the better. AI can’t replace what you do…unless we’re actually living in the Matrix, and then we’re all in trouble :(
Interior Designers: AI Search is Going to Kill Google Search. Want that First Mover Advantage?
Your potential clients aren't finding interior designers through Google anymore. While some marketing experts are still telling you to chase Google keywords, clients are asking AI, "Who's the best sustainable interior design expert for tech executives in Seattle?"
The shift is happening fast. Marketing consultants are still selling Google SEO strategies from 2019. Meanwhile, your ideal clients are getting specific interior design recommendations directly from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's own AI search features.
Most marketing experts are still pushing Google-era playbooks:
Telling you to chase Google keywords that worked when Obama was president
Selling Google SEO advice that treats AI search like Google with a chatbot stuck on top
Having you create generic "interior design tips" content optimized for Google algorithms
Convincing you that beautiful portfolio photos will rank in Google search results
This approach worked when clients scrolled through Google's ten blue links. It fails spectacularly when AI provides direct answers about which interior designers clients should hire.