# Towards Intent-based User Interfaces: Charting the Design Space of Intent-AI Interactions Across Task Types

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.18196 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.18196/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 28 Apr 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- ["The Diagram is like Guardrails": Structuring GenAI-assisted Hypotheses Exploration with an Interactive Shared Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.16791/) (2025)
- [CareerPooler: AI-Powered Metaphorical Pool Simulation Improves Experience and Outcomes in Career Exploration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.11461/) (2025)
- [On the usability of generative AI: Human generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.17714/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Technological advances continue to redefine the dynamics of human-machine interactions, particularly in task execution. This proposal responds to the advancements in Generative AI by outlining a research plan that probes intent-AI interaction across a diverse set of tasks: fixed-scope content curation task, atomic creative tasks, and complex and interdependent tasks. This exploration aims to inform and contribute to the development of Intent-based User Interface (IUI). The study is structured in three phases: examining fixed-scope tasks through news headline generation, exploring atomic creative tasks via analogy generation, and delving into complex tasks through exploratory visual data analysis. Future work will focus on improving IUIs to better provide suggestions to encourage experienced users to express broad and exploratory intents, and detailed and structured guidance for novice users to iterate on analysis intents for high quality outputs.