Agent in status Bar
July 28, 2025
How you place an AI agent shapes usability and decision-making and thus AI product design! 🤖
This pattern separates the agent’s state and progress indicators from the chat and places them in a fixed location—usually just above the composer or in the app UI shell. It leans into a more utilitarian model of assistance.
Key traits:
System feedback style: Updates are presented like notifications or console logs—helpful for tracking progress across multiple or nested tasks.
Context persistence: The agent’s current state (e.g. “Planning,” “Generating,” “Polishing”) is anchored and always visible—crucial for long tasks or when switching contexts.
Cognitive clarity: Because the agent’s activity doesn’t get buried in the message flow, users can quickly check status without scanning the thread.
Mental model: Frames the agent as a dependable assistant or tool—more akin to a smart sidebar or console log than a co-equal partner.