Ian Silber - What it's like designing at OpenAI

Ian Silber, Head of Product Design at OpenAI, details the unique challenges and opportunities of designing in a research-led environment. Unlike traditional consumer product design, working at OpenAI requires treating the AI model itself as the primary material, often prioritizing model behavior and conversational flow over static UI elements. Key strategies include leveraging direct manipulation interfaces to improve ergonomics for writing tasks and developing a dynamic user interface library that allows models to compose interactive components. Design at OpenAI is characterized by rapid iteration, bottom-up experimentation, and the necessity of systems thinking to ensure new features extend the product cohesively. As AI capabilities evolve, the designer’s role shifts from manual pixel-pushing toward curating, editing, and directing model-driven experiences, requiring both technical curiosity and the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing technological landscape.