GenAI systems often rely on interpreting human input. When users provide ambiguous, incomplete or erroneous information, the AI may misunderstand their intent or produce low-quality outputs.
Input errors often reflect a mismatch between user expectations and system understanding. Addressing these gracefully is essential to maintain trust and ensure smooth interaction.
How to use this pattern
Handle typos with grace: Use spell-checking or fuzzy matching to auto-correct common input errors when confidence is high (e.g., >80%), and subtly surface corrections (“Showing results for…”).
Ask clarifying questions: When input is too vague or has multiple interpretations, prompt the user to provide missing context. In Conversation Design, these types of errors occur when the intent is defined but the entity is not clear. Know more about entity and intent. E.g., ChatGPT when given low-context prompts like “What’s the capital?”, it asks follow-up questions rather than guessing.
Support quick correction: Make it easy for users to edit or override your interpretation. E.g., ChatGPT displays an edit button beside submitted prompts, enabling users to revise their input