Moving from "finding" to "teleporting"
For the better part of this year, my focus has been on designing the user experience and interface for EPRI’s new ecosystem of AI products. And yes, that is plural.
While there are projects slated for next year that pique my interest, the AI initiatives we are currently deploying represent the most transformative work I have engaged with in at least 15 years. We are fundamentally changing how users find information on our website.
The Legacy of Search
To understand the destination, one must first understand the departure point. Historically, one of our most persistent challenges has been the search experience.
When I arrived at EPRI, the ecosystem was fractured. We maintained two independent search engines—one for the public and one for members—resulting in a disjointed user experience. We eventually rebuilt these into a unified search interface, allowing public users to view the full breadth of available research, events, software, and materials, complete with clear indicators regarding access rights.
However, the delivery mechanism remained stuck in the past. For years, niche research has been housed in downloadable PDFs, with some spanning hundreds of pages. While valuable, this format is hostile to mobile users and makes finding specific data points akin to finding a needle in a digital haystack. Traditional search filters helped some power users refine their results, but for many, the cognitive load remained too high.
The Answer Engine
As we refine this core AI chatbot, we are also branching out. We are currently developing several niche-specific AI applications using this framework, slated for release in the near future.
This technology has allowed us to reimagine our search UX entirely. Search is the crux of EPRI’s online ecosystem, and these new capabilities alter the relationship between the user and our data. I am eager to collaborate with our communications and R&D teams to capitalize on this momentum, using it to redefine EPRI’s web strategy.
Breaking the Paradigm
Most designers are familiar with Jakob’s Law—the principle that users spend most of their time on other sites and therefore expect yours to work the same way. It aligns with Steve Krug’s famous edict: "Don’t make me think." The standard interpretation is that designers should prioritize familiarity and established patterns.
But what happens when you are building something that has no established pattern?
We are moving beyond the familiar paradigm of pages, navigation bars, and keyword optimization. To use an analogy: Traditional search gives you a map and a set of directions, but you are still required to drive yourself to the destination.
What if you could simply state where you want to go, and the interface transported you there instantly? That is the user experience we are currently designing.
Embracing the Evolution
As I wrote in my book, Future Work, AI is the next logical step in the evolution of information delivery. Just as writing superseded oral tradition, and the internet superseded print media, AI is poised to supersede the traditional web.
There is a palpable fear among some designers that this technology will upend creative work. However, I believe this shift should be embraced. AI is a tool, not a one-to-one replacement for human insight. If the "struggle" of the journey—the tedious hunting and pecking for data—is solved by AI, designers are freed to focus on high-value problems that machines cannot easily solve.
We are approaching an inflection point. It is far better to understand the trajectory of this technology and guide it than to be blindsided by it. We are working on an evolution thousands of years in the making, where the interface is no longer just a tool, but a collaborative partner.
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