AI & UX: The Real Impact of Artificial Intelligence on User Experience (SaaS)

I. AI at the Service of SaaS Users: Simplify, Assist, Enrich

User experience (UX) is a key success factor for any SaaS. Generative artificial intelligence (AI), with its learning and creative capabilities, offers immense potential for optimizing UX and creating more intuitive, personalized, and engaging interactions. It allows for automation, personalization, and innovation. Let's see how to concretely integrate it into your SaaS/application to maximize its benefits.

1. Creativity and Personal Expression: Boosting Engagement

Generative AI democratizes content creation and unleashes the expression of your users, even the least experienced. By integrating these features, you boost engagement and satisfaction.

• Generating images from text: Does a user of your SaaS need a specific image but doesn't have design skills? Thanks to image generation AI similar to that integrated into Canva or Adobe, they describe the desired image and artificial intelligence creates it. Time saving, simplification, and personalization: the impact on UX is significant.
• Personalizing interactions: Artificial intelligence can be used to personalize the interface and interactions within your SaaS. Take the example of personalized emojis generated by AI in iOS 18. By offering this type of functionality, you allow your users to take ownership of the interface and adapt it to their style, making the experience more engaging and fun.
• Easily retouching photos: If your SaaS processes images, integrate AI-based photo editing tools, like Google's "Magic Eraser" on its Pixel smartphones. Your users can perform professional retouching in a few clicks, without needing specific image editing skills.

2. Productivity and Time Savings: Optimizing Efficiency

Artificial intelligence can automate tedious and time-consuming tasks, freeing up valuable time for your users and improving their productivity. This increased efficiency translates into a better user experience and greater satisfaction.

• Automatic transcription and summarization of conversations: For a video conferencing or project management SaaS, AI-powered transcription and summarization of meetings, as already offered by iOS 18 and Google Pixel, are extremely useful features. Your users save valuable time by avoiding manual note-taking and can focus on what matters most: discussions and decision-making.
• Writing assistance and smart replies: Artificial intelligence can also boost productivity in written communication. Whether it's for writing emails, reports, or documentation, writing assistance and suggested reply features, like those offered by Notion, Gmail (with Gemini from Workspace), and Office (Copilot), can considerably simplify your users' work and improve the quality of their writing. Integrating such a feature into your SaaS can greatly improve user efficiency. For example, your SaaS customer support integrating an AI-assisted response generation tool: time savings for agents and faster, more relevant responses for customers.

3. Intuitive Navigation and Simplified Search: Streamlining the Experience

Artificial intelligence can make your SaaS interface more intuitive and facilitate access to information. Smooth navigation and efficient search are key elements of a good user experience.

• Visual search: Instead of relying solely on keywords, artificial intelligence allows you to integrate visual search into your application. A user looking for a specific product in your catalog, but who doesn't know its exact name, could simply take a picture of the product to find it instantly with a feature similar to Google Lens or Apple Visual Intelligence. Such a feature offers a more intuitive and faster user experience, simplifying navigation and access to information.
• Document reading and analysis: AI can be used to extract key information from complex documents, such as contracts or reports. If your SaaS involves the use of many documents, artificial intelligence can analyze them and extract important data. The user saves valuable time and can focus on analysis and decision-making, rather than on tedious document reading. AI could also be used to generate summaries of these documents, facilitating understanding and navigation through large volumes of information.

By integrating these features into your SaaS, you offer a more intuitive, more efficient, and more engaging user experience, which translates into better adoption, greater customer satisfaction, and, ultimately, a better return on investment.

Note: Integrating AI into your SaaS must be strategic and user-centric. Simply adding AI-based features to follow the trend is not enough. A study by Punchcut (2023) reveals that users, especially the most experienced, prefer the integration of artificial intelligence into their existing tools rather than the use of new dedicated applications. AI must bring real added value to your SaaS, by simplifying tasks, improving efficiency, or personalizing the experience. If your tool offers nothing more than a competitor, apart from the addition of a gadget AI, this could even be perceived negatively by users. The goal is to use artificial intelligence to improve the user experience, not as a mere marketing argument.

II. An Inclusive Experience: AI for Everyone

Artificial intelligence is not just about simplifying our digital lives. It also plays an important role in accessibility and inclusion, enabling a greater number of users to fully interact with the digital world.

• Breaking down language barriers: AI-powered instant translation is revolutionizing access to information and entertainment. Platforms like Lipitt already use artificial intelligence to translate and dub content. This opens up access to information and entertainment to an international audience.
• Guiding the visually impaired: AI, combined with image recognition and speech synthesis, can act as a real assistant for the visually impaired. Google's Lookout application, for example, allows users to "scan" their environment with their smartphone. AI identifies objects, people, and text present in the image and describes them aloud. Artificial intelligence thus becomes their eyes, helping them navigate the real world and interact with their environment.
• Facilitating reading and comprehension: Screen readers, essential for the visually impaired, are now more powerful thanks to artificial intelligence. They can not only read text aloud, but also describe images and adapt the rhythm and intonation of the reading according to the context. AI thus makes digital content more accessible and enjoyable to consume. In addition, AI-powered text summarization features can help people with reading difficulties understand complex texts.
• Navigating differently: Artificial intelligence also paves the way for new forms of interaction, such as eye-tracking control. In iOS 18, this technology allows users to control their device with their eyes. Imagine the possibilities for people with mobility limitations: navigating an interface, selecting items, writing text, all without using their hands. This technology opens up new perspectives for autonomy and inclusion for people with reduced mobility.

Artificial intelligence can, by taking into account the needs and abilities of each user, break down certain barriers and open access to information, entertainment, and communication for all. By integrating this type of functionality, you improve the experience for everyone and contribute to a more inclusive digital world.

III. AI and UX: Between Promises and Vigilance

Generative AI has undeniable potential for improving UX, but its integration must be thoughtful and responsible. Beyond the enthusiasm generated by this technology, it is essential to take into account users' concerns and avoid the trap of "AI washing", i.e., the use of artificial intelligence as a mere marketing argument without real added value.

The Human Factor: Irreplaceable

Despite the progress of artificial intelligence, humans remain essential for a positive user experience. A study by Pega (2020) reveals that 80% of respondents prefer to interact with a human rather than with AI for customer service. The latter must therefore complement and not replace humans, especially for interactions that require empathy and understanding. In your SaaS, artificial intelligence can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time for your teams so they can focus on relational aspects and solving complex problems.

Data Confidentiality: A Major Concern

Generative AI raises legitimate concerns about data confidentiality. The BEUC (2020) study highlights user mistrust: 60% of respondents fear that artificial intelligence will lead to misuse of their personal data. Transparency is therefore essential, as is the choice of technologies used.

Indeed, the technical architecture of your AI has a direct impact on confidentiality. Opting for APIs that process data locally, on the user's device, rather than sending it to external servers, can be a reassuring argument. Clearly mention this technical choice if you opt for this solution, and explain its benefits for the confidentiality of your users' data.

Remember: transparency is key. Be clear about the data collected, its use, and the security measures put in place. Offer options to control the level of data sharing, and highlight the "privacy-friendly" solutions you have chosen.

Authenticity and Ethics: Navigating Murky Waters

Generative AI can create very realistic synthetic content, which raises questions of authenticity and ethics. Users are questioning the credibility of AI-generated content and the impact of these technologies on human relationships.

• Combating deepfakes and disinformation: Solutions like Google's SynthID, which adds digital watermarks to images generated by artificial intelligence, and the labeling of AI content on social networks are steps in the right direction. By integrating these mechanisms into your SaaS, you contribute to a more transparent and reliable digital environment.
• Preserving the human connection: AI must be a tool at the service of humans, not the other way around. In your SaaS, artificial intelligence should augment human capabilities, not replace them. For example, AI can help with writing, but the final decision and validation of the content must remain under the user's control.

By addressing these ethical issues seriously and transparently, you will build trust with your users and stand out from companies that use AI as a mere marketing argument ("AI washing"). The goal is to use artificial intelligence to create real added value for your users and improve their experience, not to surf a trend.

Conclusion: AI and UX, a Fruitful Collaboration

So, is generative AI a revolution in user experience or just a fad? As we have seen, its potential is undeniable. Intelligently integrated into your SaaS, it can simplify tasks, stimulate creativity, and make your interface more accessible. Generative AI is a real asset for improving user engagement and satisfaction.

However, the adoption of generative artificial intelligence should not be a blind race for novelty. It is important to take users' concerns into account, particularly regarding confidentiality and authenticity. Transparent communication, an intuitive interface that clearly explains the role of AI, and user control over AI functionalities are all keys to successful adoption.

At merveilleUX, we are convinced that generative AI, used wisely and ethically, can positively transform the user experience of your SaaS. Would you like to explore how to integrate artificial intelligence into your product in a relevant and responsible way? Contact us to discuss your needs and build together a human-centered UX strategy, augmented by artificial intelligence.