| UI or UX | UI + UX - Spoken command interface that listens, recognizes, confirms, and executes bounded user intents | UI + UX - Direct key combination that activates a known command, focus target, or mode | UI + UX - Modal command surface | UI + UX - Primary editable input surface for composing and submitting an AI request | UI + UX - Single-line freeform data-entry control | UI + UX - Touch-first gesture vocabulary and fallback contract for taps, swipes, drags, pinches, and multi-touch interactions |
| UI guidance | Render voice command as an explicit listening surface with microphone permission state, wake or push-to-talk trigger, listening indicator, timeout, recognized phrase, confidence, matched command, target object, alternatives, and cancel path. | Render keyboard shortcuts as discoverable command hints near the visible command, in shortcut help, in menus or toolbars when space allows, and in platform-specific form such as Command+S on macOS and Control+S on Windows. | Render a compact dialog-like command surface with a search input, current scope, typed command mode, active result, command metadata, and empty state. | Render the prompt box as a labelled, editable composer with visible draft area, send control, context chips, attachment controls, model or mode indicator when relevant, character or token boundary feedback, and clear disabled or blocked-send reasons. | Render a persistent label, appropriately sized single-line input, optional hint, visible focus state, and nearby error text that is programmatically associated with the field. | Render touch gesture affordances with visible targets, enough spacing, state feedback, and non-gesture controls for the same outcome when a gesture is path-based, multipoint, hidden, or easy to misfire. |
| UX guidance | Use voice command when users benefit from hands-free spoken control, accessibility voice input, or quick command activation and the product can manage recognition uncertainty, privacy, confirmation, recovery, and fallback paths. | Use keyboard shortcuts as accelerators for frequent, reversible, well-understood commands that already have visible controls or reachable command surfaces. | Accelerate expert navigation and repeated actions across a large product while preserving ordinary navigation for novice and low-frequency users. | Use a prompt box when users need to author a natural-language request for AI generation, transformation, analysis, or automation and must remain in control of the exact request being submitted. | Use text input for short freeform answers that users can type or paste and that cannot be accurately represented as a fixed option choice. | Use touch gesture when the product needs direct manipulation on a touchscreen, but treat gestures as part of a larger interaction contract rather than the only way to act. |
| Good UI | A mobile reporting app shows Press and say a command, records the transcript 'send report', matches it to Send report, reads back Incident 482, and requires Confirm send before uploading. | A document editor Save button shows Command+S on macOS and Control+S on Windows, disables the shortcut while a blocking validation dialog is open, and announces Saved draft. | Centered command surface with input, shortcut hint, scope chip, grouped commands, command type labels, and a visible active row. | An assistant composer labels the selected source as Contract draft, shows Attach file, Use selected text, Format: table, and Send, and blocks sending when the referenced file is no longer available. | A reference-name field has a visible label, hint, medium width, focus ring, and error message beneath the hint when submitted empty. | A photo viewer supports pinch to zoom, double tap to zoom, plus and minus buttons, a reset button, zoom percent feedback, and a clear pan boundary after zoom. |
| Bad UI | A microphone icon starts listening silently and executes the first matched word without a visible transcript. | A product hides Submit behind Control+Enter with no visible button, hint, focus rule, or mobile equivalent. | Huge branded modal that buries the input below decorative content. | A blank AI field shows only Ask me anything and sends vague requests with hidden page context. | The only instruction is placeholder text that disappears when the user starts typing. | A map can only be zoomed with a two-finger pinch and has no plus, minus, or reset controls. |
| Good UX | A user says 'filter critical alerts', sees the recognized phrase and target list, corrects an alternative before execution, and can undo the applied filter. | A user presses Command+S in an editor, sees Saving then Saved, focus remains in the editor, and the same Save command remains available in the toolbar and menu. | Keyboard shortcut or visible trigger opens the palette, focus lands in the command input, arrows move the active row, and Enter activates the highlighted safe command. | A user selects a policy paragraph, writes Summarize risks for a non-lawyer, sees Selected text and Output: bullets chips, submits, then edits and resends the exact prompt after the first answer is too broad. | A user types or pastes a short reference, submits it, and the interface confirms the stored value without changing their wording. | A user pinches a diagram to zoom, sees the scale change, releases outside the threshold without committing a rotate gesture, then uses visible Zoom in and Reset controls with one finger. |
| Bad UX | A user says 'send it later' while dictating a note and the app immediately sends a message. | A screen reader user cannot discover the shortcut because it is not exposed in help, command labels, or aria-keyshortcuts. | Palette is the only way to reach important navigation. | A user presses Enter expecting a new line and accidentally sends an unfinished prompt to an external model. | Validation fires on the first focus event and blocks typing before the user has had a chance to answer. | A user with a head pointer cannot trigger a two-finger gesture and has no single-pointer alternative. |
| Best fit | Users need hands-free control, accessibility speech input, or rapid spoken command activation. | Users repeat a known command often enough that memorized keyboard acceleration saves meaningful time. | Users need to traverse a broad product surface quickly. | Users must write or revise an AI request before generation, analysis, transformation, or automation begins. | The answer is short and user-authored. | A touchscreen interaction needs deliberate design for gesture vocabulary, thresholds, feedback, target sizing, cancellation, and equivalent controls. |
| Avoid when | The task is high-risk and cannot tolerate recognition uncertainty without strong review or approval. | The command is rare, novice-oriented, high-risk, or hard to explain before execution. | The app has only a few obvious actions. | The task is better expressed as a fixed form, button, or command with known parameters. | The answer is a paragraph, comment, address block, or explanation requiring multiple lines. | The gesture is only an implementation detail inside a more specific pattern such as swipe action, pull to refresh, long press, drag and drop, bottom sheet, carousel, or map view. |
| Required state | Voice unavailable or unsupported state with non-voice alternatives. | Visible command with shortcut hint. | Closed state with discoverable trigger. | Empty prompt state with label, helpful instruction, and no implied hidden submission. | Empty untouched state with persistent label and optional hint. | Idle state with visible touch targets, gesture hints when needed, and no reliance on hover. |
| Accessibility burden | Keep visible labels and accessible names aligned for speech-input activation. | Make all shortcut outcomes available through visible controls or reachable command surfaces. | Use dialog semantics with a clear name and modal behavior when the rest of the page is inert. | Provide a programmatic label for the prompt editor and named controls for send, attach, remove context, clear, retry, and cancel. | Associate every text input with a visible label or equivalent accessible name that matches the visible question. | Provide a simple single-pointer alternative for multipoint or path-based gestures unless the gesture is essential. |
| Common misuse | Listening without a visible active state or clear stop control. | Making a shortcut the only path to a primary command. | Hiding basic navigation behind a keyboard-only palette. | Showing Ask anything as the only instruction while hiding what sources and tools the model can use. | Using placeholder text as the only label or instruction. | Requiring pinch, rotate, two-finger swipe, or shape gestures with no single-pointer alternative. |