The era of prompt-driven AI is upon us, and with it comes a new set of usability challenges that product teams must address. As the hype around generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and Dall-E 2 settles, it’s time to shift the focus from technology to user-led thinking and tackle users’ material problems.
Prompt-driven AI represents a radical shift from the command-based interaction models and graphical user interfaces that have dominated the past 50 years of computing. While these new tools have enabled more natural and conversational interactions, they also present challenges that impact adoption and scale, from use cases without compelling value propositions to data and privacy concerns, hallucinations, and limited traceability of outputs.
As organizations explore the potential of prompt-driven AI, it’s crucial to take a step back and focus on user frictions and latent needs rather than being blinded by the hype. Solution-agnostic thinking, understanding user literacy, and breaking the constraints of the chat interface are all essential steps in delivering usable and engaging AI-driven experiences.
