I needed some time to understand what is really changing in our field.
Not just new tools.
Not just faster models.
Something deeper.
We’re moving from a world where the user executes,
to a world where the user expresses.
And this shift touches the core of what we do as designers.
Before: we arranged screens
For years, our job was basically this:
- Open the form
- Fill the fields
- Click here
- Validate
We improved flows, we cleaned interfaces,
we polished microcopy,
we made everything smoother and clearer.
But at the end of the day,
it was still the same idea:
The user must follow the steps.
Now: the interface follows the user
Today, a user can simply say:
“I want to take three days off next week.”
And the interface (if designed properly) understands, checks conflicts, clarifies, suggests.
It “thinks” in a way.
That’s when I realized something important:
I’m no longer just designing layouts.
I’m designing a behavior.
A way of thinking.
This is what AI Interaction Design really is.
It’s not about a chatbot. It’s about a relationship.
Let me be clear:
AI Interaction Design is not “making a chat UI”.
For me, the real work is about shaping how the system:
- understands an intention
- asks for one missing detail
- admits uncertainty instead of inventing
- maintains trust
- helps without taking over
We’re no longer designing buttons.
We’re designing meaningful conversations.
The 3 types of AI we actually deal with
Over time I noticed there are 3 clear levels:
- Chatbot — it answers, nothing more
- Assistant — it helps you complete a real task
- Agent — it does the task for you, cleanly and reliably
The future is clearly in assistant + agent.
Because that’s where the user feels real value.
A very concrete example (from daily work)
Let’s take a simple ERP use case.
Before — classic version
To send a purchase request:
- open the module
- search for the item
- type the quantity
- add a comment
- submit
Mechanical. Predictable. Boring.
Now — AI-assisted
The user simply writes:
“Order 30 packs of A4 paper for next week.”
The AI understands:
- item
- quantity
- timing
- purpose
- department
And then asks:
“Should I send this for approval?”
That’s the moment you feel the shift.
You’re not designing interfaces anymore.
You’re designing intelligent interactions.
A simple exercise I now use a lot
When I want to rethink a feature, I ask myself:
“If this task became a natural conversation,
what would the user really say?”
Not a perfect prompt.
Not a script.
Just a real human sentence.
That’s where the design direction becomes clear.
Design is becoming relational
I really believe the future of design won’t be visual.
It will be relational.
We’ll spend more time trying to understand:
- how the AI reasons
- how the user naturally expresses themselves
- where the conversation breaks
- how trust is built or lost
Our work becomes more human than ever.
Because at its core, design has always been:
understanding people better than they express themselves,
and turning that into something usable.
With AI, this doesn’t disappear.
It becomes even more important.
A sentence I keep in mind
“Design is no longer about what the user can click.
It’s about what the user can express —
and how gracefully the system can understand it.”
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