Designing for People and Their AI Helpers

A person can now ask an AI agent to book a flight. An AI agent is a computer helper that can act for someone. The helper may use the airline's website instead of the person. This changes who is doing the work inside a digital product. But the person's needs must still guide how that product works.

NN/g uses experience design to describe this wider area of work. It means designing how people reach goals through computer systems. People may do the work themselves, or helpers may do it. Sometimes the two take turns during different parts of a task. Designers need to understand the whole experience, not just one screen.

The article gives an example of a problem during these changes. A helper finds a flight, and the person accepts its choice. Then the person needs to sign in through the helper's browser. Their usual tool for saving passwords is not available there. The helper works, but the person has trouble finishing the next step.

Looking only at the person or the helper would miss this problem. It appears when the task moves from one to the other. Designers must also consider when a helper should ask for permission. People need ways to check actions and change them if necessary. A completed computer task is not enough if the person's goal fails.

People will still use websites and apps directly as well. Clear information and easy controls remain important for these familiar tasks. The wider field adds new questions instead of removing the old ones. Teams may need to repeat tests and watch how control changes. The final question stays the same: did the person get the help needed?