As digital transformation accelerates, organizations across industries are embracing low-code platforms and AI-powered tools to build and deploy business applications faster and with fewer resources. Platforms like Microsoft Power Platform, Mendix, OutSystems, and Appian, paired with AI copilots and automation, are empowering not only IT professionals but also business users to develop apps, workflows, and dashboards with minimal code.
This rapid enablement is revolutionizing how software is built. But amidst this transformation, one principle remains unchanged—and arguably more critical than ever: great user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design.
In this article, we explore why UI/UX is not just relevant, but essential in the low-code and AI era, and how businesses can ensure their apps are not just functional—but loved by users.
Low-code has broken down traditional barriers to application development. Business users can now prototype and publish apps that solve immediate pain points without waiting for IT backlogs to clear. While this democratization unlocks innovation, it also comes with a risk: not everyone who can build an app understands good design.
Without UX principles guiding these solutions, organizations risk releasing tools that:
Are hard to navigate
Lack accessibility for diverse users
Look and feel inconsistent
Create cognitive overload
A low-code app that works technically but fails to resonate with users will likely be abandoned or underutilized. That’s where UI/UX comes in—to ensure the apps are usable, intuitive, and aligned with user needs.
An app can be packed with features and integrations, but if users can’t figure out how to use them easily, those features become irrelevant. Good UI/UX design is about reducing friction—eliminating confusion, clicks, and clutter.
Key UX principles that become critical in low-code apps:
Consistency: Repeating visual and interaction patterns help users feel comfortable and confident.
Clarity: Clean layouts, proper spacing, and clear labels enhance comprehension.
Feedback: Users need visual or auditory cues to know their actions are successful or in progress.
Minimalism: Low-code apps often get bloated with too many fields or buttons—UX encourages focusing on essentials.
When these principles are followed, users are more likely to adopt the solution, reducing the need for training, documentation, and support tickets.
As AI becomes embedded in modern applications—whether through copilots, natural language queries, predictive recommendations, or generative tools—it changes how users interact with systems. These shifts require rethinking traditional UX patterns.
Some key UX questions for AI-enabled apps:
How do you design for explainability? Users must trust the AI’s output, which means providing transparent logic, confidence levels, and rationale.
How do you balance automation with control? Users want to feel empowered—not replaced—by AI. UX should allow override or refinement.
How do you guide prompt-based interactions? Many users are unfamiliar with prompting AI. Designers must include examples, hints, and structured inputs to avoid frustration.
In short, as the AI layer becomes more prominent, the UX layer must adapt to make these intelligent experiences feel human, helpful, and responsible.
While low-code platforms reduce development time, they don’t automatically reduce rework. If an app is rejected by users due to a confusing layout or poor usability, the development team has to go back and fix the experience. This introduces hidden costs that could have been avoided with UX involvement early on.
Poor UX also leads to:
High bounce or drop-off rates
Increased helpdesk or IT support demand
User dissatisfaction, which can erode confidence in IT or digital initiatives
Loss of momentum in digital transformation efforts
Good UI/UX design isn’t just about delighting users—it’s about de-risking projects and improving efficiency over time.
Enterprises often deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of apps using low-code tools across different departments. Without UI/UX governance, this leads to a chaotic experience where every app feels different, even if built on the same platform.
This inconsistency frustrates users and makes training more difficult.
What effective UI/UX governance can include:
A central design system with reusable components
Shared templates for dashboards, forms, and navigation
UI kits aligned with brand identity
Accessibility standards and best practices
Training and onboarding for citizen developers on UX basics
This approach ensures consistency, efficiency, and scalability across your entire application landscape.
One of the key value propositions of the low-code and AI era is speed—speed of creation, automation, and insight generation. However, speed without direction is wasted.
Imagine a scenario where a business user creates an AI-powered Power App to automate invoice approvals. If users can’t understand the flow, struggle to find information, or mistrust the AI recommendations, the automation falls flat.
By integrating strong UI/UX design into the lifecycle:
The AI becomes more approachable and trustworthy
The automation becomes clearer and more efficient
User satisfaction increases, leading to greater adoption
Ultimately, the goal of any app—whether built in code, low-code, or no-code—is to solve a problem. Great UI/UX increases the chances that:
The problem is correctly understood (through user research)
The solution fits seamlessly into the user’s workflow
Users can adopt the tool with minimal friction
The app delivers measurable business value
Companies that invest in UX see higher returns across all key metrics—productivity, satisfaction, retention, and digital maturity.
Low-code platforms and AI have reshaped the app development landscape. But they haven’t eliminated the need for human-centered design—in fact, they’ve made it more urgent.
As more people build solutions and as software becomes more intelligent, UI/UX is the glue that ensures those innovations are usable, delightful, and impactful. Whether you’re an enterprise scaling Power Apps or a startup building with AI copilots, prioritize your users. Because in this era, how your app feels is just as important as what it does.
