AI is introducing the third user-interface paradigm in computing history, shifting to a new interaction mechanism where users tell the computer what they want, not how to do it — thus reversing the locus of control.

For its first two years, the web was a text-only medium with a command-line user interface similar to the UI for current generative AI tools like ChatGPT. Only after GUI browsers launched in 1993 did the web explode. AI needs a similar GUI revolution in usability.

Two new user behaviors are prevalent in interactions with text-based AI chatbots. User research shows the iterative and often complex ways users engage with AI tools for productivity.