Arran Stewart is the cofounder and CVO of Job.com. Technologist, car nut and proud father.
The title of this article may seem bold and provocative.
While I might aim to capture attention, let me clarify: I do not believe that generative AI (GenAI) will replace everything. More to the point, I don’t necessarily believe that the current iterations of generative AI like ChatGPT or Claude will be the dominant technology or user experience (UX) in the future. These technologies are currently top of mind among users and consumers, but the first technology to receive public attention and buy-in isn’t always dominant in the end—just ask Yahoo.
With this article, since generative AI is something most people can now relate to and understand, I am going to use the technology as a jumping-off point to discuss how companies should be looking to improve user experience in the coming years.
How Conversational AI And GenAI Will Impact UX
With the rise of conversational AI, the way users interact with technology has evolved immensely. Conversational AI technology already serves many of our daily needs—just ask Siri, Alexa and Google Home. These solutions can already play your favorite music or tell you the weather.
But these are still primitive applications of the technology’s potential.
As generative AI evolves, it will allow conversational AI to perform more complex tasks. Consider if a solution can learn the needs and wants of the consumer—which many companies are already exploring—and fill in many of the gaps within daily processes. For example, ordering a gallon of milk. The AI could determine the best price, the best delivery time and maybe even the frequency of delivery based on the user’s consumption needs.
It would be intelligent, intuitive and proactive, and it would provide a far more streamlined experience for users. In short, it would be a digital augmentation of the human being in a way we have never seen before.
Today, companies spend a considerable amount of time and money to create seamless experiences within their user experience and user interface (UI). What could be coming is a greatly reduced need for that level of engagement and interaction if something like generative AI could layer over it in the ways described above.
Let’s look at some potential real-world examples.
Buying Groceries
The latest and greatest grocery shopping experience is a digital one, using platforms like Instacart or retailers’ websites to order, purchase and often deliver groceries. This digital experience saves time compared to physically going to the grocery store and can be further streamlined with features such as saved items and automated repeat orders.
But generative AI offers the potential to add a middleware layer that makes using these platforms even more frictionless and natural. Using useful queries and natural language, this middleware could convert our vocalized instructions into action via ambient technology hardware like Siri, Alexa and Google Home.
The core technology here would be generative AI that conversationally enacts our consumption on a supply chain solution.
Instead of physically visiting the grocery delivery app on their device, users would instead interact with the platform through a layered-over interpreter known as conversational AI that acts as a digital concierge carrying out the tasks.
Applying For A Job
As an expert in the HR technology space, I can attest that the job search process—and, specifically, the job application process—requires many moving parts: search engines, job boards, applicant tracking systems, résumé uploads, AI matching and more.
The application tracking system (ATS) will always remain part of the process for compliance and distribution, and it is necessary as a system of record for companies, particularly for hiring records required by the IRS.
However, layering generative AI over an ATS or job listing platform could act as an information aggregator. Although it may call for significant configuration to meet compliance and data requirements, it could enable smart applications, identifying potential job fit and executing a job application.
Conversational AI has the potential to provide information to the user such as job details, job matches and company insights. It would be very useful to have this solution as a preemptive guide for predicting the likelihood of success and candidate-job match before a candidate even applies.
Conclusion
So, what will push the digital world to work in such a way? Well, it’s already being pushed this way with the rise of domestic ambient technologies such as Alexa and Google Home. Most of us already have told Siri “No” or “Not right now” as it abruptly interrupts us during our day.
As more users engage with ambient technology applications, both hardware and software, it will put increasing pressure on brands to rethink their digital experiences to accommodate how their customers interact with them.
This type of technology is still not here—and there are, of course, many barriers. For example, who pays for this technology? Do companies implement it themselves, or would a third party act as a middleman?
But brands should start thinking differently about UX now. As users become more and more used to conversational AI technology, they will engage with companies and technology in new and different ways.
For example, what does the user experience of rideshare companies look like when happens when users say, “I need a ride,” and generative AI automatically calls the cheapest option between Uber, Lyft and other cab services? How does this impact the rideshare business model? It would certainly impact the loyalty that Uber and Lyft have created over the years, but it is also the next logical progression from what Booking.com brought to the hotels or what Opentable has done for restaurants, right?
All I can conclude is that we are at the beginning of the process, as Siri, Alexa and generative AI are paving the way. We must ask ourselves now: What will those technologies become smart enough in the future to do?
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