Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Designing AI Applications
Summary
The way we build applications has changed dramatically with every major platform shift: mainframe to PC, web to mobile, and now AI. Luke Wroblewksi, author of Web Form Design and Mobile First, will chart the evolution of AI product design from behind-the-scenes AI models and chat interfaces to agent management and beyond. He'll show how designing AI applications isn't about where to add chat—it's about using AI to solve UX challenges in onboarding, search, customization, task management, and more.
Key Insights
-
•
Every major technology wave transforms applications fundamentally—from mainframes to AI-powered conversation and agentic systems.
-
•
Early AI adoption was mostly behind-the-scenes, enhancing existing UIs without changing user interaction paradigms.
-
•
The explosion of chat-based AI like ChatGPT introduced direct user-AI interaction but also the challenge of the 'empty text box' with unclear capabilities.
-
•
Suggested questions and answers significantly improve user onboarding by guiding users on what they can do and how.
-
•
Including citations in AI responses builds trust and helps users verify information sources.
-
•
Agentic AI systems that autonomously select and use tools create complex interaction flows, raising new UI design challenges for transparency versus simplicity.
-
•
There are two main user mindsets toward AI autonomy: those who want to see the system’s thinking and those who just want results.
-
•
Separating AI process steps from results in interfaces (e.g., ChatDB) helps manage mental load and make outputs more comprehensible.
-
•
Context awareness—understanding and controlling what AI pays attention to—is essential for effective AI interactions.
-
•
Software developers lead AI agent adoption, influencing the trajectory and sophistication of AI products across industries.
Notable Quotes
"In the AI era, applications are conversations. AI models understand intent and execute complex tasks without programming for every scenario."
"When there’s a major technology shift, almost everything about an application changes, including how users experience it."
"Google Translate completely reinvented itself by replacing many translation systems with a single neural network capable of zero-shot translations."
"Suggested questions give you a sense of what the heck can I do here, which is really important in empty text box AI interfaces."
"Showing citations in AI responses helps people develop trust and understand where answers come from."
"Agentic systems don’t just respond; they decide which tools to use, analyze results, think between tool calls, and can do multiple things simultaneously."
"People fall into two groups: some want to see what the system is thinking and why, others just want to see the final output."
"Separating process from results in the UI lets you see what the AI is thinking while giving more prominence and clarity to the results."
"Context management lets you tell the system what to look at, whether it’s files, folders, or highlighting specific image regions."
"The evolution in AI UIs is ongoing and rapid, and we’re still figuring out what the final form of AI-native applications looks like."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Getting to know what people care about in the organization helps tailor workshops to support those goals and gain buy-in."
Anne MamaghaniHow Your Organization's Generative Workshops Are Probably Going Wrong and How to Get Them Right
March 28, 2023
"No amount of clearer presentation or communications is going to solve this; it’s a cooperation problem."
Kurt McCullochFaster alone, further together: Rebuilding collaboration in the age of AI research
March 10, 2026
"The Ministry of Culture will be the only government office totally open for public use."
Sofía Delsordo Kassim VeraPublic Policy for Jalisco's Designers to Make Design Matter
December 8, 2021
"I’ve sat on both sides of the table. I’ve sometimes help both jobs at once which I don’t recommend."
Christian CrumlishIntroduction by our Conference Chair
December 6, 2022
"Sustainable teams require visible shared growth paths; designers’ growth should be supported, not accidental."
Ebru NamaldiDesigning the Designer’s Journey: Scaling Teams, Culture, and Growth Through DesignOps
September 11, 2025
"Critiques help teams stop being the lone ranger and instead iterate faster together with purpose and clarity."
Joseph MeersmanSweating the Pixel: Scaling Quality through Critique
June 10, 2021
"Service design and enterprise design are not just for digital or government—they're applicable to complex organizational change and B2B market entry."
Milan Guenther Benjamin KumpfThe $212 billion ‘so what?’: unlocking impact in development cooperation
November 20, 2025
"Sometimes democratized research happens in silence, with little coordination, causing duplicated efforts."
Kathleen AsjesResearch Democratization: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
March 10, 2022
"Typing prompts is not the UX of the future. Integration into the interactive context where you work is better."
Josh Clark Veronika KindredSentient Design, AI, and the Radically Adaptive Experience (1st of 3 seminars)
January 15, 2025
