

UX Roundup: People Tell AI Their Secrets | Employment & AI | Long Forms | Two Ways of Using AI | Flow | Funny AI | Triangulation | IKEA Effect | Focus
Users say they don’t trust AI, but they tell it their secrets anyway | More people have gained jobs because of AI than have lost them | Every form field you cut increases conversion | The two main ways users direct AI: specify upfront or correct as you go | Keep users in the flow | How to use humor in AI | Combine insights from multiple research methods | The IKEA effect increases the perceived value of something you built yourself | Protect users’ focus by limiting distracti

Jakob Nielsen
Sep 2117 min read


UX Roundup: AI Codes Survey Responses | Agents Disregard Ranking | Half of AI Use Needs Recovery | AI Context | AI Agents | Emotional Attachment to AI | Cost of Extra Steps | Feedback During Creation
AI is good at coding open-ended survey answers | AI agents shop without Google Gullibility | Half of AI conversations include a breakdown, so the recovery experience deserves more attention | AI needs context to suit the task | Field reports from projects that implement AI agents | People develop feelings for their AI | Respect users’ time: every extra step carries a cost for them and for you | AI can make users feel they’re creating for an audience | The ends of names and la

Jakob Nielsen
Sep 1431 min read


UX Roundup: Dark Design | Ecommerce Search | Search Engine Traffic Drops | AI vs Mythical Man-Month | AI vs Humans for UI Design | Lady Ada | Europe 2031 | AI Companions | DataViz Job
Dark design patterns | 8 usage patterns for ecommerce search | Search engine traffic drops rapidly | AI overcomes “The Mythical Man-Month” | AI does well in UI design vs. human designers | The story of Ada, Countess of Lovelace | Scenario for European AI until 2031 | Virtual girlfriends/boyfriends rack up double the use of dating apps | Job openings for data visualization design

Jakob Nielsen
Jun 2214 min read


UX Roundup: OpenAI Product Roadmap | Parallel and Iterative AI Use | Virtual Boyfriends | Jakob in SF | Dropdown Menus | Early GUI | AI Urgency | Perplexity Deep Research
Parallel and iterative use of AI improves quality outcomes | Dropdowns must die | Early GUI prototypes | UX needs more urgency about AI

Jakob Nielsen
Feb 17, 202513 min read


AI Companions Reduce Loneliness
AI companions, like virtual friends, are helping people feel more connected. They offer modest but meaningful reductions in loneliness.

Jakob Nielsen
Sep 19, 20246 min read
