The Fifth Elephant 2025 Annual Conference CfP

As AI capabilities become more accessible, there’s a growing temptation to sprinkle “AI” across every corner of an experience. But great UX isn’t about blanket automation—it’s about thoughtful orchestration. The most impactful use of AI comes when it’s mapped to specific user moments—where it can offer clarity, speed, or support at just the right time.

Start with the Customer Journey

Before introducing any AI functionality, it’s critical to step back and understand the user journey end-to-end:

• What are users trying to achieve at each stage?
• Where do they face friction, uncertainty, or repetitive tasks?
• Which moments require human-like assistance, prediction, or personalization?

Once the journey is mapped, identify AI insertion points where it can elevate the experience:

• Can an AI assistant help during onboarding by pre-filling data from documents?
• Can predictive analytics help a user decide the best time to perform a task?
• Can AI summarize, compare, or simulate choices to reduce decision-making time?

The key is precision: embed AI where it solves a pain point or enhances flow, not everywhere.

Principles for UX Design in AI-Powered Experiences

• Make AI Invisible (Until It’s Needed):
  Don’t force users into AI-driven paths. Offer AI-powered shortcuts or enhancements alongside traditional paths.

• Build for Confidence, Not Control:
  AI should reduce mental effort, not add doubt. Show how a suggestion was made or allow users to refine it. Transparency builds trust.

• Design with Feedback Loops:
  AI improves with feedback. UX should make it easy for users to correct, rate, or teach the system—without turning the experience into work.

• Use Language Intelligently:
  Whether it’s a chatbot or microcopy, ensure AI speaks clearly, empathetically, and in the user’s language—literally and emotionally.

• Edge Cases Are UX Cases:
  AI isn’t perfect. Design UX patterns for when AI doesn’t know, guesses wrong, or fails. A graceful fallback is better than a broken promise.

• Privacy Isn’t an Afterthought:
  Users are more comfortable with intelligent experiences when they know what data is used and how it helps them.

Examples of Targeted AI Features at the right moments

• In a document-heavy workflow, AI could auto-extract and pre-fill form fields during the upload step—not as a global feature but in context.

• In a comparison scenario, AI can summarize options or simulate outcomes based on user history—right before a purchase decision.

• In support scenarios, AI can surface contextual help only when the user shows signs of struggle, instead of a persistent bot in the corner.

Final Thought

AI doesn’t need to be everywhere to make a difference. The magic lies in knowing when to show up, and when to stay silent. UX design for AI isn’t about making it louder—it’s about making it feel like it’s just… naturally part of the journey.

Reference article:
https://sahaj.ai/smart-workflows-the-key-to-boosting-adoption-and-fuelling-growth/