Hi,

generally speaking the AI should use custom templates you have created. I see these in my own games. You have to have played with the e.g. the Terran ship style before and need to have created custom templates, but then I see the Terran AI using them. One thing that hinders this in later game is if the player has researched a lot of miniaturization techs (+x capacity), and the AI has not. Then these are overcrowded designs for the AI, and it will not use them.

Apart from that, at the moment if you want to force the AI to use certain ship templates, the only way is to create your own ship style  with the link above and assign the templates for the AI. There are quite some custom shipstyles out there already, check the steam workshop. People say it'll take 15-30 minutes to create your own ship style this way.

Hope this helps.

I downloaded the Andorian Faction which said it needed the ships so I downloaded them too however the AI never used them and when playing the Andorians the Andorian ships never come up. Now I can go into the Designer and see all the ship templates including the custom ones.

Is there going to be an easier why of doing this in the future?