The best digital experiences make technology feel helpful, understandable and respectful. AI should strengthen that feeling rather than make an interaction harder to trust.
Make the purpose obvious
People should understand why an AI feature is present and what it can help them do. Avoid adding an assistant simply because it is fashionable. Give it a clear job, such as helping someone compare options, find information or prepare a first draft.
Set honest expectations
Explain what the system can and cannot do. Make it easy to reach a person when the question is sensitive, complex or outside the system’s reliable scope. Do not imply that a bot is human.
Design for recovery
People will make mistakes, change their minds and ask unexpected questions. Provide clear ways to edit, undo, restart or speak to a person. A useful experience is not one that never fails; it is one that helps people recover gracefully.
Respect privacy and control
Collect only the information needed for the task. Tell people how information is used, avoid requesting sensitive details without a real need and provide meaningful controls over personalisation and data sharing.
Measure more than speed
Completion time matters, but so do confidence, clarity, resolution rate, repeat contacts and customer effort. A faster experience that leaves people uncertain is not necessarily a better one.
A human-centred starting point
Map the customer’s goal, the points where they become uncertain and the moments when a human needs to step in. Then decide whether AI improves one of those moments. Start with the customer’s experience—not the technology.