Here’s our take on some of the other potential challenges of Gen UIs:
- Generative user interfaces could pose challenges for SEO, as they impact current Google guidelines around cloaking (a website purposefully showing one version of a URL/page to a search engine for ranking purposes, while showing another to its actual visitors). If Gen UI became the norm, Google would need to amend its guidelines to work out what counts as cloaking, and what counts as generative UI experiences.
- The unpredictability of human beings cannot currently be factored accurately into prompts. Changes in external factors such as financial circumstances paired with unreliable customer behaviour tendencies could mean that while an interface suits your needs on one day, it’s not relevant on the next.
- Brand identity and trust might also be compromised. How can a brand market itself and communicate its values seamlessly if interface experiences vary so much between users? Will the authority of brands deteriorate if existing users find different experiences inconsistent or unsettling?
There’s no denying that the benefits of tailoring an interface exactly to the needs of the individual are strong, but we should still be mindful of upholding brand trust, search visibility, and user satisfaction. I haven’t touched on the full spectrum of Gen UI’s future, as this strays into territory of a giant Chatbot that could replace the internet as we know it (yes, really). For now, perhaps we should just acknowledge that often great, simple UI design, when informed by plenty of user research, can solve most user problems and create an authentic, well-rounded experience that’s true to the brand.
