In the beginning, we had to learn it’s language to interact with it.
Computers required users to adapt to them in order to make it do something. Eventually we developed the graphical user interface to hide the programming-speak and but this is still mostly an illusion as we’re still constrained to think like a computer and structure our interactions in a way that makes sense to a computer (tasks need to be done sequentially and in order, meaning and intent don’t factor into it, etc.). But we are fast approaching an inflection point where this dynamic is reversed and the computer will respond to human natural-language input. We’ll be able to speak naturally and be understood by technology.
This post is about AI.
As AI becomes ubiquitous, interfaces everywhere are being redesigned to center on chat. Conversation design/UI is being rolled out everywhere. Companies are asking themselves, “Can we use AI to make this a better experience for users?”* In my role as design leader I regularly have internal discussions about deploying chatbots as a new feature enhancement, at Drizly (RIP) and Liberty Mutual.
* actually, the questions are more accurately: “let’s use AI to improve the experience…” rarely is it “will AI improve this experience?” but I digress.
AI is going to be transformative. And it is coming for every sector. Consider customer service:
“Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of customer service and support organizations will be applying generative AI technology in some form to improve agent productivity and customer experience (CX).”
I think it’s fair to ask however: “Will users find a customer service experience powered by AI better?” More succinctly: “Do users want to talk to a chatbot?”
Generally, users don’t want to talk to chatbots. Today. Chatbots will get better over time and the friction and sour feelings they create today will minimize (though probably not disappear). Will chatbots in the future pass the Turing test? I have no idea (and I appreciate it when companies don’t try, such as Slack).
Whatever the answer, I think chatbots are the least interesting application of AI from a user experience perspective.
Better UX through AI
Yes, AI can make a chatbot interesting. Go play with ChatGPT for a bit. It’s fun and with some practice (i.e. learning to think like the computer) you can get it to spit out some really creative and interesting content. But that’s the end of the user experience, isn’t it?
I think far more compelling application of AI will be when it truly adapts to humans, anticipating and solving user needs. In this dynamic, there’s no need for the user to tell the computer what they want (in whatever language) because the computer is already working to address the need.
Imagine AI rescheduling a doctor’s appointment because of a conflict in your schedule that has come up?
Imagine booking travel to a new city and AI building an itinerary of activities and restaurants based on you that consults your schedule without being asked?
I recently shared this post on generative UI where AI transform’s an app’s interface to suit the specific needs of a user based on their behavior and interests. AI to transform every interface so it’s adapted to you sounds pretty compelling.
At Drizly we discussed an AI feature that would take a results page of various wines that would select specific bottles and generate a brief description, all based on the user’s taste preference, finding relevancy through the noise (unfortunately we never got around to building it).
Seven years ago I wrote about the Starbucks app anticipating my morning order and placing it without me having to tell it to (I didn’t mention AI, but this theme holds - technology working for us and not the other way around).
IN CONCLUSION
Each of these AI examples are all relatively possible today, and I think offer a far more compelling user experience than a chatbot. With AI, let’s focus on user outcomes and design interactions that will provide rewarding experiences for real people.