The emergence of artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) in the realm of education, notably in product design, signifies a watershed moment, heralding significant enhancements over conventional pedagogies by potentially catalyzing unparalleled innovation. This investigation assesses the ramifications of assimilating AIGC into product design instruction, focusing on its advantages, constraints, and consequent influence on students’ design cognition across a spectrum of proficiency levels. The study encompassed 119 scholars with a focus on product or industrial design, delineated into three distinct echelons of proficiency.
