Ref Founder Urges Designers to Rein In AI Agents With a Less-Is-More Approach

Generative AI can compress product-design and development cycles, but its output often carries recognizable “AI slop”: crowded interfaces, unnecessary features and decorative elements added without a clear purpose. Ref founder Matt Dailey says AI agents are naturally inclined to keep building rather than exercise restraint. That makes human judgment essential for setting constraints, protecting product coherence and deciding what should be removed instead of merely generating more options.

Dailey recently outlined Ref’s “de-slop” workflow, advocating a less-is-more approach that cuts features, copy and visual flourishes that do not serve the product’s central goal. He also recommends separating design exploration from code implementation: teams should first test alternatives and narrow the interaction and visual direction, then ask AI to build the selected concept. The staged process is intended to curb overbuilding and produce more deliberate, higher-quality software.