IDD Newsletter Nov. 6, '26 - Your Client Has ChatGPT Now. Your Contract Needs to Catch Up..
Hi there, designer š
š§ No time to read? Listen instead.
Okayyyyā¦so apparently Ana vs. AI has officially become a series š
This is exactly what happens when you're hiding in the closet for too long! So weāve talked about AI-generated interiors.
Weāve talked about using AI intentionally in our own workflows.
But there is another side of AI that I donāt think enough designers are talking about yet:
Our clients have ChatGPT now too.
And you guysā¦PLEASE SEND HELP! AHHHHHHHHH!!
Iām currently about 11 months into a full-home renovation. For context, the majority of my drawings were essentially signed off months ago (May 2026 to be specific! and final payment has been collected).
Construction had major delays because of circumstances completely unrelated to design, and now the project is finally starting to move forward again. Great. Perfect. Letās continue.
Except...my clients discovered ChatGPT.
And suddenly my inbox became:
Ana, what about this? Ana, ChatGPT suggested this. Ana, could we reconsider this? Ana, what if we changed this?
And Iām sitting there thinking: WHERE DID THIS EVEN COME FROM?!
We have an established design concept. Weāve spent literally MONTHS designing this house. We have a blue-and-white palette.
And suddenly weāre discussing green because ChatGPT generated some other idea? WHAT.
And then things escalated even more..
Last week I had a client meeting to review the final electrical drawings because construction is finally moving into electrical and plumbing.
Normal meeting. Or so I thought.
My client had uploaded MY ELECTRICAL PLANS into ChatGPT for feedback.
I wish I were kidding. My jaw actually dropped. They had printouts.
PRINT. OUTS.
ChatGPT had apparently reviewed my electrical plan and suggested that certain decorative wall sconces weren't necessary.
Excuse me?! That wall sconce is there because it is part of the DESIGN.
It isn't there because the room needs one more random source of lighting obviously. It is decorative. It relates to the entire concept we've already developed.
And suddenly Iām sitting in a meeting defending a wall sconce to a chatbot. I was there for four damn hours guys, defending my electrical plans..
But wait. It gets better. A few days later weāre on Zoom discussing kitchen countertop thickness. They ask me a question. I start answering it.
And while Iām explainingā¦
they are verifying my answer with ChatGPT WHILE IāM STILL ON THE ZOOM CALL.
I could literally see it happening. At that point I was like: You hired me.
You hired a contractor. You hired engineers. You have an entire professional team working on a multi-million-dollar renovationā¦and now I apparently have one more consultant at the table - ChatGPT.
And hereās the thingā¦
Iām not saying clients should never use AI. That would make absolutely no sense after everything Iāve been talking about for the last few weeks.
Iām using it. Youāre probably using it. Clients are going to use it too.
Thatās reality. But there is a BIG difference between:
using AI as a research tool
and
allowing AI to continuously reopen professional decisions that were already made.
And THAT is where I think we as designers need to wake up.
Because here is what AI has done:
It made questions almost free.
A client can type: āGive me 12 alternatives for this bathroom.ā
Five seconds later? Done.
But guess what happens when they send all of that to YOU?
Now you have to: review it, evaluate it, explain why it works or doesnāt, compare it against the existing design, check whether it affects something else, possibly revise drawings, coordinate with the contractor, revisit selections, reopen an approval.
And suddenly that five second prompt created two hours of work for you.
THAT is the part I think our contracts need to catch up with.
My contract didnāt anticipate this.
My agreement for this project was signed last December.
There was nothing in it saying:
āPlease do not upload the designerās electrical plans into ChatGPT and ask the robot to redesign them.ā
Because honestly? I didnāt even think I needed to say that. But going forward? I do. And I think you do too...
Professional organizations are already taking this seriously. AIAās current AI guidance emphasizes that AI should support - not replace - professional judgment, and that firms need policies around privacy, intellectual property, confidentiality, and AI-generated outputs.
ASID also continues to emphasize something we should already know as business owners:
your contract needs to clearly define scope, services and compensation.
So what am I changing?
Iām currently revisiting my contracts, and here are the protections I think designers need to start thinking about NOW:
1. AI research does not automatically become design direction.
Your client can research whatever they want. Pinterest. Instagram. Google.
ChatGPT. Their neighbor Susan.
But external research should remain reference material unless you, the designer, evaluate it and formally incorporate it into the project.
2. Approved decisions stay approved.
If we spent weeks developing a kitchen, the client approved it, drawings were completed, and three months later ChatGPT generates another ideaā¦
that does not mean the design process magically starts over for free.
If the client wants to reopen an approved decision?
That is Additional Services. Period.
3. Reviewing AI-generated ideas takes time.
Clients may think: āIām just sending Ana one little idea.ā
But professional review is work. If you want me to evaluate AI-generated plans, alternatives, specifications, layouts or technical suggestions outside the agreed scope? That time needs to be billable.
4. AI is not a licensed member of the project team.
This one sounds obvious until youāre defending a wall sconce to a chatbot.
AI can suggest things. It can summarize things. It can generate ideas.
But it does not know the complete project. It does not attend your site meetings. It does not know every contractor conversation.
It does not understand every design decision that led to the final solution.
And most importantly: it is not accountable for what gets built.
Professional judgment still matters. AIAās current guidance makes that point very clearly: the professional remains responsible for validating work and exercising judgment rather than simply relying on AI output.
5. Protect your drawings and intellectual property.
This one really hit home for me. I never expected to find my electrical plans being uploaded into a third-party AI platform. Going forward, I think designers need language addressing whether clients may upload:
drawings, renderings, specifications, presentations, floor plans, or other proprietary work into third-party AI systems.
Because depending on the platform, there may also be questions around storage, reuse, training data and confidentiality. AIA specifically advises design professionals to understand how external AI systems handle uploaded information and to protect confidential and proprietary data.
The lesson for me?
My contracts were written for the way clients worked before AI was sitting in everyoneās pocket. That has changed. And our agreements need to change with it.
Iām not anti-AI. Youāve watched my 50/50 slowly become something closer toā¦65/35? š
But the word I keep coming back to is still: INTENTION.
Designers should use AI intentionally.
Clients should use AI intentionally.
But AI should not become an unlimited revision machine that quietly transfers hours of additional work onto the designer.
And it definitely shouldnāt replace the professional judgment of the people actually responsible for delivering the project.
Because ultimately?
AI can generate another opinion in five seconds.
But professional evaluation still takes professional time and that time has value.
So if your contract hasnāt been updated in a whileā¦maybe add āAI clauseā to tomorrowās to-do list...
Ana šø
Interior Design Den
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