Personalization of the User Journey
In the digital world, standardized user journeys dominate. This means that software such as websites and apps offer little room for individual needs. In contrast, the physical world often features personalized interactions – like in retail or human resources – where a specialist interacts with the customer or employee in a tailored way.
Now imagine websites and applications that adapt to our interests and needs in real-time. Specifically, we think of adaptive user interfaces that dynamically present digital content, tailoring both the content and its form of presentation. Such dynamic user interfaces individualize the user journey – moving away from the one-size-fits-all solutions we know today.
Human-Computer Interaction in Evolution
Since the beginning of the digital age, the interaction between humans and computers has continually evolved. From the initial, rudimentary computer commands executed mathematically, to increasingly intuitive coding languages, up to today’s modular user interfaces - the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has undergone a remarkable evolution.
The latest breakthrough in Generative Artificial Intelligence, with its ability to generate language, images, and software code, will further advance this evolution. The ability to create new information from existing data in a short time enables the creation of user journeys that are personalized in real-time. This means, for instance, that the website understands who you are and why you are visiting. Subsequently, the displayed content is adapted for you; in the simplest form through language, then via video, up to software - in real-time.
We call this concept Generative Experience (GenEx).
In our opinion, two factors constitute Generative Experience: Personalization and Enhancement.
Personalization ensures that interactions with the software are individually tailored to the user.
Enhancement, on the other hand, aims to make these interactions more intuitive for the user by combining modalities such as audio and image.
Early Implementations of Generative Experience
We are already witnessing the first applications of Generative Experience. One example is personalized advertising videos on YouTube, generated in real-time for the user, reflecting their individual needs. Furthermore, virtual assistants in the form of chatbots represent a development of Generative Experience: These assistants follow through with complex dialogues, offering personalized recommendations for both customers and employees. Augmenting this dialogue with voice capabilities and the representation as an avatar, we approach the intuitive way in which we communicate with people, such as in a specialty store. Such applications are the beginning of what is meant by Generative Experience.
However, the implementation is not straightforward; it presents various challenges, primarily the critical latency and the accuracy of the generated content. In the long term, however, this development will change the way we interact with digital content and ultimately with organizations.
Stay tuned. In the following articles, we will explain in detail what we mean by personalization and enhancement and how these can already be applied to your company.