AI Features Should Not Get In The Way

Software Engineering Writer Gergely Orosz shared his frustration with a recent redesign of the popular note-taking app Notion in a post on LinkedIn

Long story short, turning a piece of text into a quotation used to take less than half a second, but now either requires asking the AI writing assistant for help or performing many more clicks than it used to take.

And I wonder: Are software companies oblivious of the mounting backlash against AI "slop" in all its forms, whether lazy writing or software that clearly has AI crammed into it only because somewhere, a "stakeholder" demanded it?

If AI makes sense in your product at all, it must be a delight to use and, most importantly, it should not worsen the experience for advanced users. I can only guess that "AI usage" became an important metric to track, and, wouldn't you have it, by removing basic functionality and hiding it behind the helpful AI assistant, AI usage goes up.

AI might require rethinking common ways user interfaces and user experiences are designed, but last I checked, the underlying goal of design, i.e., making your product a joy to use for its intended purpose, is still valid.