Understanding and influencing decisions

Offer task-level suggestions

While waiting to speak to someone, a person sees suggested easier ways to complete their task.

Description

Use proactive suggestions or nudges to help people proceed with a task. Task-level suggestions should always be framed as optional and supplementary to the person’s chosen method of interaction.

For example while waiting to talk to a human, a chatbot can suggest context-aware, self-service options to users that solve their problem and cut wait times.

IF thinks this pattern is important because AI can provide contextual support to users in ways that static content often cannot.

Advantages

  • Efficiency can be improved by empowering people to self serve
  • When people are fully in control they are more likely to accept alternative suggestions
  • Improves perception of AI trustworthiness through competence

Limitations

  • May require asking unsolicited questions to establish enough context
  • May not work for all situations and contexts
  • People may be sceptical of unsolicited suggestions

Examples

  • Waze →

    Uses behavioural nudges to suggest faster routes or flag speed cameras and emergency services

  • Intercom's Fin →

    Enables people to build workflows for auto-suggesting solutions during handover to an agent

  • Google Photos →

    Suggests edits to people who may not be confident in photo editing or who want a quick fix to a photo

Related patterns