Anne Cantera

Optimum

At Optimum, I will lead the design of intelligent, AI-powered chat and voice experiences that serve millions of customers and frontline agents across residential, business, and internal support journeys. My work blends conversation design, agentic architecture, and multimodal interaction strategy to turn complex service flows into intuitive, human-centered interactions.

I own the end-to-end strategy, structure, and writing for enterprise-grade bots — from IVR modernization and chatbot optimization to generative AI integration and prompt engineering. I’ve built scalable design systems, reusable prompt libraries, and guided the evolution of agentic architectures where bots dynamically coordinate sub-agents to handle tasks like troubleshooting, sales support, and account management.

Sr. Product Designer Conversational AI

LexisNexis Legal

"Designed and implemented AI-driven chatbots and IVR systems across the LexisNexis ecosystem, delivering measurable improvements in efficiency and user experience. Deployed the 'make a payment' feature in the IVR system, resulting in a significant reduction in call center volume. Developed the password reset functionality, enabling users to regain access seamlessly, contributing to enhanced customer satisfaction. Due to NDA restrictions, specific metrics cannot be shared, but the positive impact was substantial. Led collaboration with development teams, managed User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and maintained stakeholder engagement throughout each phase."

AI Experience Designer Chatbots / IVR Global Customer Operations. 

Tech Fleet Community DAO

🔹 UX Designer / Guild Member 2022 – 2023 Tech Fleet, Remote 
Managed the full lifecycle of UX research and digital design concepts to gain hands-on experience through the 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to creating fair access to tech careers by providing skill-building opportunities. 
Collaborate cross-functionally on 3 client projects to deliver interactive prototypes in Figma; designs were chosen by Tech Fleet and have moved into development. 
Projects included:         

▪ IDM Math: Founder and visionary for an inclusive research-driven app for Nuerodivergant Learners, built on my proprietary approach to teaching Neurodiverse students. 
Oversaw the e2e product roadmap and sprint cycles, ensuring the mobile app prototype was developed based on caregiver and student persona requirements, provided guidance to the project team, and sign-off for development
▪ Career Here: A mobile responsive website that provides high school students with career counseling, college guidance, aptitude testing, and financial aid resources. 
Identified user needs and pain points by creating a persona and user journey map. 
Built sitemap and initial wireframes for usability testing and translated designs into low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes; improved usability by 60% by adding new search features. 
Delivered comprehensive style guide and components for implementation.
▪ Confidential Investment App (subject to NDA): Led design and feature ideation and delivered user flows, information architecture, affinity maps, and high-fidelity design with the prototype. Ensured application included proper legal requirements (TOC, Contract Page, etc.) 
Participated in sprint retrospectives, identifying personal and collective areas for improvement.

Prompt Design Teacher/ Product Owner / Guild Member / UX Designer

Projects:
🔹Podcast Chatbot, Stealth	Jul 2023 – Present 
Assisting AI-Entertainment based podcast create “Yappy,” their Ai-based web co host who asks listeners to pitch in their hot topics or takes
Soon-to-be released stealth podcast 
🔹Julia GPT, Culinary Chatbot	April 2023 
Created Julia, a well-loved AI-driven chatbot culinary assistant
Seamlessly generates shopping lists for users and integrates them with their favorite grocery delivery services
Also generates recipes, meal plans, nutritional information, and ingredient substitutions
Voiceflow was used to create this bot, leveraging NLP/slotting capabilities 
🔹Biz Baker, Hands-free ordering and inventory	January 2021 
Created Biz Baker, a hands-free, multi-modal platform that automates the non-baking tasks of baking
With its NLU/NLP based capabilities, this bot helps bakers manage inventory, create orders, manage vendors, place orders, price products and meet deadline effortlessly
Voiceflow was used to create this bot, leveraging NLP/slotting capabilities

NLU / VUI / Conversational designer

The Inclusive Group | IDD Life 

🔹Promoted from UX Manager within 6 weeks; 
Lead the core product strategic roadmap and delivery for the Public Benefit Corporation committed to helping people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities live their best lives through innovative AI-generated technology (subject to NDA, no further details available). 
🔹Partner with the startup founder to secure venture capital funding.
🔹Set Product strategy, including AII integration, and designed a program to onboard and deploy 40+ UX interns on agile sprints. 
🔹Establish and build from scratch supporting operational processes, release planning, resource allocation, and prioritization criteria.

Senior Product Manager

🔹 Conducted in-depth research and interviews with parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, resulting in detailed service maps.
🔹 Rapidly promoted to Product Owner within six weeks of starting, a testament to my passion and expertise in UX.

UX Researcher

MIT Incubator 

UX Designer Nov 2022 – Dec 2022 MIT Incubator, Remote 
🔹 Delivered actionable recommendations to improve mobile application user experience for a B2C client (subject to NDA);
🔹  Performed a comprehensive user-interface audit, desk research, and competitor analysis.

User Experience Designer

Canteras  Creations

🔹 Ran a successful custom cake business in New York.
🔹 Managed daily operations, including finances, client meetings, custom cake designs, and deliveries.
🔹 Gained an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of running a business and providing beautiful and delicious custom cakes.

Business Owner

Sr Product Designer 💻 Bot Builder 🤖 Conversation Designer / VUI / NLU 🗣️ Prompt Whisperer 🤫 Voiceflow Enthusiast 😎 Yes, I do BOTH ✌🏻UX & Conversational AI Design 💡chatbotbuilder.ai 🤓 annecantera.com

Experienced AI and Conversation Design Leader with a track record of over 15 years in pioneering and shaping innovative projects. Specializing in crafting cutting-edge digital, physical, products tailored to enhance customer experience and drive revenue for B2B/B2C clientele. Renowned for expertise in conducting comprehensive multi-disciplinary research to discern intricate user and client needs. Proficient in utilizing advanced AI/UX design methodologies, compelling storytelling techniques, and profound business acumen to shepherd startups from inception to successful product deployment. Recognized for adeptly bringing clarity and strategic direction to fast-paced environments. Currently at the forefront of revolutionizing conversational AI products through experimentation and groundbreaking innovation.

Product Owner

🔹Assist founder with daily operations
🔹Oversees 40 interns that building a web product
🔹Agile & Waterfall Methodologies

Experimenting please read...

I've been living through the exact job market shift everyone else is panicking about. Traditional UX roles are disappearing faster than most people want to admit.

My DMs are full of talented UX designers who can't get callbacks. Meanwhile, I'm actively turning down recruiter messages. The difference? I pivoted to conversational AI and voice interface design 3.5 years ago when I saw the IVR-to-AI conversion wave coming.

**The Market Reality**

Traditional UX job postings dropped 71% from 2022 to 2023. UX research roles fell below 1,000 monthly postings in early 2025. Only 49.5% of designers are finding new roles within three months, down from 67.9% in 2019.

Nobody's talking about this: the conversational AI market is projected to hit $32.6 billion by 2030. Companies are desperate for people who can design these experiences. The job titles? Conversational AI Designer, Voice UX Designer, AI Content Designer, Prompt Engineer, LLM Experience Designer.

**The Skills That Actually Matter**

Most UX designers get stuck thinking it's just learning new tools. It's not. The pivot requires:

• Dialog flow architecture (conversations across turns, not screens)
• NLP basics (enough to work with engineers)
• Voice-first thinking (designing for ears, not eyes)
• AI personality design (tone, empathy, error handling)
• Multimodal experiences (bridging voice, text, visual)

You need hands-on experience with platforms: Cognigy, Dialogflow, Kore.ai, Cresta. If you can't speak about intent recognition, entity extraction, and conversation flows in these systems, you're not ready. 

Transparency: I'm using AI tools to synthesize patterns faster, but insights come from doing this work. Converting legacy IVR to AI. Designing voice assistants. Building conversational flows that feel human.

**Why This Pivot Works**

Your user research skills? Critical for conversational context. Wireframing? Translates to dialog mapping. Accessibility knowledge? Essential for inclusive voice design.

**The Uncomfortable Truth**

Less than 5% of design roles target junior talent. Mass layoffs continue. Traditional UX teams are shrinking. AI automates entry-level tasks. Companies consolidate roles.

If you're waiting for the market to bounce back to 2021, I'll be direct: it's not happening.

**What Actually Works**

The people working right now? AI-adjacent roles. They learned LLMs. Got hands-on with Dialogflow or Cognigy. Repositioned portfolios for conversational thinking. Applied for "AI Experience Designer" not "UX Designer."

Stop thinking "learning a specialization." Start thinking survival adaptation. Different energy entirely.

Your traditional UX skills aren't worthless. They're the foundation. But they need a new application layer. The question isn't whether to pivot. It's how fast you can move.

What are you seeing in the job market?

🐉 Sr. AI Product Designer ✨ Conversation Design 🤖 Agents/Chat/Voice/IVR ✊ AI Orchestration 📚 Knowledge Engineer 🧩 Model Design 🌐 Multimodal 🧠 NLP/NLU 🗣️ Prompt Whisperer 🎙️ DESIGNathon Host 🤔 annecantera.com

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