Starting a new series of articles
Artificial intelligence is transforming almost every industry. People talk about automation, AI agents, intelligent decision-support systems, and content generation. At the same time, relatively little attention is paid to how AI will change the customer's first contact with a company - the moment that often decides whether a user becomes a customer or leaves a website after a few seconds.
In this series we will look at how the development of artificial intelligence affects the design of modern websites and the customer acquisition process.
However, we will not rely solely on theory.
Throughout all four parts we will follow the evolution of an example online store selling sporting goods. We will see how the classic contact form gradually transforms into an intelligent conversational system that understands the user's needs, helps them make a decision, and automatically passes complete information to the sales system.
This will make it easier to understand practical AI applications and which solutions are already available today and which are only becoming directions for modern UX development.
Web forms - a solution that has lasted over 25 years
Since the beginning of the internet, contact forms have remained one of the basic ways of communication between a user and a company.
Although technologies, website appearances and customer expectations have changed, the mechanism itself has remained almost identical.
Most often the user sees a few fields:
- first name,
- email address,
- phone number,
- subject,
- message content.
After filling them in, the form is sent and the user waits for a reply.
This solution has proven very effective for years. It is simple, easy to implement and allows you to collect basic information needed for further contact.
However, the digital world has changed much faster than the forms themselves.
Technologies changed. Users changed too.
Just a few years ago most people were used to the idea that a computer only executes commands.
We did not expect a conversation. We did not expect suggestions. We did not expect personalization.
The emergence of modern language models and AI assistants has significantly changed the way we use technology.
More and more people, instead of typing short keywords into a search engine, ask full questions. Instead of browsing dozens of websites they expect a ready answer. Instead of filling out a long form they simply want to write: "I'm looking for a mountain bike for a person 180 cm tall, a budget of around 5000 PLN, and I need it for riding on forest trails."
That's one message.
For a human it's natural. For a classic form - problematic. For a modern AI system - very valuable.
What actually is a form?
Although we usually associate it with a set of fields to fill in, a form performs a much more important function.
It is an information-gathering interface. Its task is not to display text fields. Its task is to collect from the user the information needed to achieve a specific goal.
This might be:
- contact with a salesperson,
- registration for training,
- filing a complaint,
- ordering a product,
- booking a service,
- collecting data needed to prepare an offer.
This is a very important distinction.
If artificial intelligence can obtain the same information in a more natural way, it does not mean it has to replace the form - it only needs to replace the way the form works.
Are forms really becoming ineffective?
No.
Forms are still an effective tool and will be used on websites for many years. However, in many cases they stop being the optimal solution.
There are several reasons.
Too many fields
The longer the form, the higher the probability that the user will abandon filling it out.
Each additional field means additional effort.
Lack of personalization
Every user sees exactly the same form.
It doesn't matter whether they are a new customer or returning. It doesn't matter whether they want to buy a single product or place a wholesale order.
Lack of context
A form does not understand the user's intent.
It cannot ask follow-up questions. It cannot clarify ambiguities. It cannot suggest alternatives.
Poor user experience
On mobile devices, filling out long forms is often inconvenient.
Switching keyboards, scrolling the page, or correcting errors effectively discourages some users.
Case study - online store "SportZone"
Throughout the series we will analyze the fictional online store SportZone, specializing in selling bikes, sports accessories and outdoor equipment.
Currently the contact process looks very classic.
A customer wants help choosing a bike.
The site has a form containing the fields:
- first name,
- email address,
- phone number,
- subject,
- question content.
After sending the form, the inquiry goes to the customer service department.
A consultant reads the message, contacts the customer, asks additional questions about budget, height, riding style and expectations, and only later can propose a suitable model.
The whole process is correct, but it requires several stages, involves an employee and lengthens the waiting time for a response.
Can this be done better? - Yes.
And this is exactly where artificial intelligence comes in.
In the next part we will show what Conversational Interfaces are and why a modern interface no longer resembles a form but a conversation with a competent advisor who can understand the customer's needs, ask relevant questions and guide the user to achieve their goal.
Glossary
Web form
An interface used to collect information from a user via a set of fields and controls that allow data entry.
Conversational Interface
An interface that enables communication with a system in the form of a natural text or voice conversation. Instead of requiring a rigid form to be filled out, it conducts a dialogue and adapts subsequent questions to the user's answers.
UX (User Experience)
The whole set of user experiences related to using a product, service or website. It includes ease of use, intuitiveness, speed of achieving goals and overall impressions from the interaction.
Lead
A person or company that has shown interest in an offer and left contact details or started the purchase process, becoming a potential customer.
Summary
Web forms will not disappear overnight. They will remain an important element of many business processes, especially where it is necessary to collect structured data or meet formal requirements.
At the same time, the way information is collected from users is beginning to change. Increasingly, it is not about filling in more fields, but about conducting a natural conversation in which the system understands context, asks only the necessary questions and helps the user achieve their goal.
This change will be one of the most important directions for the development of modern websites in the coming years.
In the next article we will take a closer look at Conversational UX and Agentic UX and show why intelligent interfaces increasingly resemble a conversation with an expert rather than using a traditional website.
