Written by: Tegan Henderson, Lead Designer, and Vihan Patel, Principal AI & ML Consultant
The future of software is here, and it’s speaking our language.
At Mantel, we’re witnessing a generational shift in how people interact with technology. Gone are the days of rigid, static screens, standard buttons, and linear processes that force you down a predefined path. Instead, we’re in an era where natural language and dynamic software interfaces are taking centre stage, powered by agentic AI.
We’ve explored the foundational concepts of agentic AI and generative UI in our previous whitepapers. Now, we want to take you deeper into the practical applications of agentic AI we’re seeing right now, as agentic user experiences begin to take off across various sectors. Our teams, from design to AI engineering, have been hard at work building software experiences of the future, across industries and use cases.
In the coming weeks and months, we’re excited to share with you ideas, explorations and learnings directly from our work on the ground. These include:
- Concepts and prototypes demonstrating the future of user experiences, based on how we’re applying these ideas today
- Engineering insights and learnings from our technical specialists on how to build reliable agentic experiences that scale
- How to understand the art of the possible and the impact we’re seeing on product strategy and direction
Our framework for thinking about this transformation
We’re seeing agentic user experiences emerge in three primary application areas, each aiming to simplify and transform three kinds of software experiences:
- Customer-facing applications: Optimising for engagement and conversion in customer-facing scenarios. An example of this is a shopping assistant or customer service agent.
- Software providers: Streamlining specific ‘jobs to be done’ within a single application. An example of this may be a specific agent released by a software vendor specific to their product, like Salesforce or ServiceNow
- Enterprise systems and tooling: Facilitating complex tasks and workflows across multiple applications. An example of this may be a custom-built application deployed on cloud that connects to many platforms.
Within these areas, we’re observing three distinct types of agentic experiences:
- Embedded: The agentic AI is seamlessly woven into the existing user experience, often subtly enhancing functionality in near-real time
- Direct: Users interact directly with the agentic AI, typically through a conversational or chat-style interface.
- Background: The agentic AI operates behind the scenes, or in parallel to other activities, proactively supporting the user without direct interaction.
To help visualise this, we’ve developed a simple matrix.
Most of the agentic initiatives we’re currently working on with our clients fit neatly into one of these categories.
What we’re working on and will be sharing soon
These examples are just a small glimpse of what’s possible. Agentic AI is advancing rapidly, and its impact is already being felt in real-world business outcomes today. At Mantel, we’re not simply watching this shift; we’re leading it, working closely with our clients to design and deliver these solutions every day.
In the coming weeks and months, we’re excited to share how we’re putting these concepts into action across a range of customers that are making real progress in agentic AI. We’ll be sharing our learnings and opinions from these experiences across product leadership, design and UI, and agentic engineering.
Lastly, we’ve announced an exciting partnership with leading researcher Dr. Haijun Xia, who’s helping us translate the latest ideas and concepts from their research and apply them to real client problems today. Dr. Xia is a distinguished figure in the US academic technology community, and directs the Foundation Interface Lab at the University of California, San Diego. Read more about our partnership below.
Mantel partners with UX leader and expert Dr. Haijun Xia
This collaboration is set to embed global, cutting-edge experience and research into Mantel’s digital practice, accelerating and delivering future-focused AI experiences to clients.
