6 real ways AI has improved the user experience

It seems like every other company is bragging about their AI-powered user experiences. Consumers and the UX experts responsible for designing great user experiences are rightly skeptical.

We've sifted through the murky and selected six companies that are using AI technology to create a better customer experience. Here's our take on what works and why.

Pinterest

Pinterest began its AI journey a few years ago by adding search result filters that allowed for customizable skin tone and hair type preferences. Recently, the company expanded its AI-powered innovation to include body type technology.

This feature uses data on shape, size, and height to identify different body types. Users can then select the body type they want to see in their search results. The AI ​​then helps Pinterest's algorithms deliver search results that match what the user wants to see.

The technology is currently available for searching women's fashion and wedding wear, with men's fashion launching in late 2024.

The goal is to ensure that all Pinterest users feel comfortable, included and represented on the platform. Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, explained in an interview: “We've really invested in making Pinterest a more positive alternative to traditional social media. We're trying to prove that you can use AI for good.”

Creating an environment where users feel welcome and accepted for who they are is the foundation of any business's success. Website visitors who have a positive experience tend to stay on the site.

Even if you don't have a Pinterest-sized budget to invest in AI-powered technology, you can take smaller steps to create an inclusive environment. This will help build a foundation of trust, which is a great way to keep customer retention rates high.

One way is with chatbots. You can train them to ask the right questions and offer personalized solutions. The goal is to quickly guide users to the products and services that match their preferences, wants, and needs. When that happens, users feel like you understand them and care enough to make their experience valuable.

Estee Lauder

In early 2023, Estee Lauder launched its AI-powered app aimed at blind and visually impaired makeup wearers. The app, called the Estee Lauder Voice-enabled Makeup Assistant (EL VMA), guides users through the makeup process and provides feedback along the way.

The app uses machine learning, artificial intelligence, and the user's phone camera to assess how evenly foundation, eye shadow, and lipstick are applied, then alerts the user to anything that may require special attention. The goal is to provide a more accessible beauty experience for the visually impaired.

The app is a success because it gives blind or visually impaired makeup users independence. They can confidently apply their makeup without relying on feedback from friends or family members. The app allows users to perform this basic activity of daily living themselves.

Although it's a niche app that only appeals to a small portion of the population, it highlights an important theme that applies to any business: accessibility. Your website, product, or service should serve everyone equally. The goal is to be inclusive, not exclusive.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one in four adults in the United States has a disability. Of these, 6.2% are hard of hearing and 5.5% have visual impairments.

To stay competitive and provide a great experience for all users, you need to adapt your experience to the needs of everyone, including those with disabilities. AI-powered assistive technologies such as screen readers and speech recognition systems help you do this. Their successful integration should be a priority for every UX team.

MasterCard

Mastercard unveiled Mastercard Small Business AI in early 2024. The program is powered by artificial intelligence and is designed to provide small business owners with personalized support in real time. The goal is to provide an on-demand virtual mentor to help busy entrepreneurs find solutions to common problems they face when starting or running their business.

Mastercard's program is designed to “provide mentoring at scale and provide constantly updated advice from a wide range of sources,” said Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard's chief marketing and communications officer. The company works with a number of media partners and uses generative AI to limit bias in the tool and meet the needs of its diverse user base.

Content is presented to users through a personalized chatbot that answers questions and makes content suggestions on everything from marketing and cybersecurity to finding funding sources and choosing the best locations for a brick-and-mortar store.

While Mastercard's program isn't replicable for most smaller companies, its core concepts are. Providing users with valuable information, giving them personalized answers and suggestions, and supporting them on their individual user journey are all things UX teams at companies of all sizes can – and should – do.

This can be achieved, for example, by incorporating AI-powered chatbots and designing websites, forms and apps that detect and reduce bias.

United Airlines

United Airlines is the first U.S. airline to integrate generative AI into its customer service, addressing customers in real time and directly.

Specialized customer service teams in the company's network operations center use AI technology to analyze flight data and write detailed text or email messages to customers explaining flight delays and changes. The customer service team oversees the process, but AI does the heavy lifting. The end result is that affected customers get a 360-degree view of the “why” of their schedule disruption.

If the changes or delays are due to current weather events, customers will also receive links to local radar maps along the flight path – also provided by generative AI. The goal is to reduce customer frustration by informing them how the weather in another part of the country will affect their own flight.

Combined with United's existing automatic rebooking assistance program, this new initiative ensures passengers are fully informed and able to manage their own flight plans. While this won't eliminate passenger frustration, it's a big step toward reducing it.

Even if your budget is very small compared to United, you can implement AI-powered tools to optimize the user experience. Start by giving your customers as much information as possible throughout their user experience. Then use AI tools to collect and analyze key demographics and behaviors of your customers to provide a more personalized user experience in real time.

Let's say you run an e-commerce website. A customer who places an order can be kept updated from purchase to delivery via text message and email using AI-powered tracking tools. You can also capture and analyze a customer's behavior on your website and then offer them personalized recommendations based on predictive analytics.

Walmart

Virtual try-on apps have been around for a while, but Walmart has taken the experience to a new level with its “Be Your Own Model” technology. It allows users to upload a full-body photo of themselves and then “try on” more than 270,000 items of clothing from Walmart's entire clothing catalog. The new technology allows the user to see exactly how each item of clothing will look on their body.

Walmart uses algorithms and advanced machine learning models to create a highly realistic simulation that includes fabric draping, shadows and clothing placement based on the user's actual body shape and measurements.

Walmart makes it easy for online shoppers to use the app by displaying a “try on” button on the item page for items that have this technology enabled. Customers upload their photo to the Walmart app once and can then use the feature in the app and while browsing the Walmart site on their computer.

Walmart's goal is to give users an experience similar to what they get in a Walmart store – personalized, engaging, realistic. It's a concept that any business can adopt, even with much smaller budgets.

You can increase user satisfaction and simulate a feeling of being “there” by using AI tools that provide personalized recommendations based on user preferences, browsing patterns, and past purchase history. Chatbots can also be implemented to guide users through their online journey.

HM

You see a shirt, dress, shoe or accessory that inspires you and wonder if you can find something similar at H&M? Your search is easy: take a photo or upload a photo with your phone and use the visual search in the H&M app.

Using artificial intelligence, the app searches H&M's databases for similar colors, patterns and items, then shows the user matches or similar results on the screen.

When we tried the app with a random snap from Instagram, the results were surprisingly accurate. Although the image we took wasn't focused on clothing or accessories, H&M's visual search gave us several shirt and necklace options that were quite similar to what the person in our picture was wearing.

This use of AI technology helps to optimize the online shopping experience and save the user time. It also offers the opportunity to help users discover products they may not have otherwise found when searching. Both strategies increase customer satisfaction with the overall brand experience. This, in turn, can increase your profits.
Even if you don't have the technology team or budget to support this type of functionality, you can still implement similar strategies. AI tools like Algolia can be added to synthesize user data in real time and provide customized search results and product recommendations.