This generation of consumer products where AI is bolted on are built on two flawed UX assumptions.
First, that chat is natural—interactions unfold linearly, showing a record of the back-and-forth between human and LLM. But chat isn’t how humans naturally communicate. Our words vanish; what remains is understanding, emotion, memory. Talking allows us to explore and ramble and revisit, unburdened by a transcript, remembering the salient facts and the gists of exchange.
Second, that conversation is the best way to refine AI responses—prompting, critiquing, cajoling until you get what you want. This works, for those willing to do it—which is why it’s called prompt engineering, as if you’re writing code. But writing is work, it demands effort and clarity. Most people will get out whatever they can put into their first or second attempt. If the machine does not wow, the user will churn.
The underlying principle of consumer tech is to remove friction. This manifests in reducing latency, reducing the number of clicks to accomplish a task, paring down information hierarchy— the list goes on. As AI products mature, the initial wonder of what LLMs can do will get normalized and the need to satisfy these human needs for reduced friction will become the mechanisms to win engagement.
The future is point and click (again!), like a genie conjuring information on demand. It’s voice, which lets you meander (people love talking about problems and curiosities, few write them down). AI will anticipate needs, present options and visualizations, and take actions on behalf of the user. It will not be just an empty chat box.
But frictionless can cut both ways in an agentic world. The more consequential the action—booking, spending, deleting—the more that same proactiveness and effortlessness can become a liability. Winning AI products will need to know when to default to friction, and how to incrementally earn trust.
The best UIs will:
- Simplify. They may not be infinitely customizable, but they’ll get the most important jobs done quickly.
- Anticipate needs exceptionally well, and meet them delightfully.
- Preserve human control, especially for anything remotely consequential.
Obaid Farooqui 