No, AI Won’t Kill the User Interface
Author: Jason Robinson, jason@revenueinsights.org
Every so often, technology leaders declare the end of something familiar. Recently, it’s the user interface. With natural language and AI agents on the rise, some predict users won’t need apps or interfaces at all. They’ll just state their intent, and AI will take care of the rest.
There’s truth here. AI will absolutely change how people interact with technology. But it’s not a binary shift. It’s a spectrum. On one end are fully conversational, agent-driven interactions. On the other are conventional interfaces, menus, and forms. Most real-world experiences will sit somewhere in between, blending natural language with structured UI.
For leaders, the real question isn’t whether the UI disappears. It’s how you adapt to this gradient of change and become truly user-focused in your approach.
The new role of the interface
User interfaces have always mediated between human intent and system capability. With AI, this role grows more complex. Interfaces must now help users form intent, see context, and understand outcomes.
Engagement patterns will vary. A user may begin with a typed request, then continue in a conventional workflow. They may start in a chat, but expect structured results they can validate. As the Nielsen Norman Group notes, trusted AI systems require explainability — interfaces must show how the system reached its answer (1). Users may even delegate actions to AI but still want visibility and control through the UI.
This means organizations can’t design experiences for one mode alone. They need strategies and measurement systems that track how preferences shift and where friction emerges.
Journeys that illustrate the spectrum
Conversational commerce. Traditional checkout is linear: add to cart, enter payment, confirm. AI now makes this flow more dynamic. A customer might ask, “Can you find me a coupon for this and apply it before I check out with Apple Pay?” The AI can process the request, but the interface still matters. Users want to confirm their order details, shipping address, and total cost. The conversation handles intent; the UI provides trust and verification (2).
AI-powered search. Users are moving from keyword lookups to intent-driven queries. Instead of “red running shoes size 11,” the request might be “the best marathon shoe for training on concrete that reduces knee pain.” AI engines like Perplexity AI or Google’s AI Overviews can parse this intent, but they don’t return just a block of text. They combine synthesized answers with links, images, and sources. The interface clarifies reasoning, enables adjustment, and supports decision-making.
Both examples sit in the middle of the spectrum: hybrid experiences where AI handles interpretation, and the UI ensures transparency and choice.
The platform divide
How this spectrum evolves also depends on platform strategy.
Apple is leaning into on-device AI with Apple Intelligence. Summarization, writing, and personalization happen locally or via Private Cloud Compute, reducing latency and keeping sensitive data private (3). For applications where trust and confidentiality are critical, this aligns with user expectations.
Android is pursuing a hybrid approach. Gemini Nano runs on-device for lightweight tasks, while more powerful features come from the cloud. This enables faster rollout of capabilities, but it means more user data flows into cloud services (4).
For leaders, the issue isn’t which platform is “better.” It’s how your application strategy aligns with your users’ values. Privacy, performance, and capability intersect here, and the stance you take will shape the way users perceive your AI features.
What leaders should focus on
The core implication for CTOs, engineering leaders, and executives is clear: user experience strategy cannot stand still. The interface is not disappearing, but it is shifting into adaptive, intent-driven territory.
Three priorities stand out:
Locate your users on the spectrum. Are they leaning into conversational flows, or still preferring structured interfaces? The answer varies by segment, use case, and platform.
Evolve your design and measurement systems. Success isn’t shipping AI features. It’s understanding how users interact with them. As Harvard Business Review points out, measuring AI requires moving beyond clicks to metrics like task success and user confidence (5).
Tie interfaces to business outcomes. Conversion, retention, and transaction value remain the measures that matter. The challenge is ensuring evolving interfaces translate AI capabilities into real results.
Closing thought
AI is changing the nature of the user interface — not by eliminating it, but by pushing it into new, more dynamic roles.
The leaders who recognize the spectrum, adapt across it, and measure outcomes accordingly will deliver experiences that feel natural, trustworthy, and effective. Those who don’t risk building powerful AI that users never adopt.
The interface isn’t dead. It’s evolving. And organizations that understand this evolution will define the next generation of user experience.
Sources
(1) Nielsen Norman Group. (2023). AI: First-Person Definition and User-Experience Research. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ai-definition/
(2) Gartner, Inc. (2024). Top Strategic Technology Trends 2025: The New Human-Machine Symbiosis.
(3) Apple Newsroom. (2024, June 10). Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system… https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/06/introducing-apple-intelligence-for-iphone-ipad-and-mac/
(4) Google. (2024, May 14). Google I/O 2024: Gemini comes to Android… https://blog.google/products/android/google-io-2024-gemini-android-ai/
(5) Brynjolfsson, E., & Li, D. (2023). The AI-Powered Organization. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2023/07/the-ai-powered-organization
