Interface Vision

Moving beyond the traditional web app UI towards a "universal presence" means thinking about how users interact with agents and workflows in various contexts and through different modalities.

Here's how you can imagine and conceptualize such a UI/UX:

  1. Decouple Interaction from Orchestration: The core platform (workflow builder, orchestrator, monitoring) might still have a primary web UI for developers and administrators. The "universal presence" applies more to how end-users interact with the results or touchpoints of the workflows and the agents themselves. The platform needs robust APIs to enable these diverse interaction points.

  2. Context-Aware Interfaces: The UI isn't static; it adapts based on:

    • Device: Desktop web, mobile app, AR glasses, VR headset, smart speaker, smartwatch, embedded display.
    • Environment: Office, home, factory floor, on the go.
    • User Task: Focused work, quick check-in, ambient awareness.
    • User Role: Developer configuring vs. Operator handling a task.

  3. Multi-Modal Interaction: Go beyond mouse and keyboard:

    • Conversational UI (CUI):
      • Chatbots: Agents interacting via text in platforms like Slack, Teams, or dedicated chat widgets. Users could trigger workflows, query status, or provide HITL input via chat.
      • Voice Assistants: Invoking agents or workflows via smart speakers or voice commands on mobile/desktop ("Hey Agent, run the daily report workflow," "What's the status of the data processing job?"). HITL tasks could be presented and approved via voice.
    • Augmented Reality (AR):
      • Contextual Overlays: Imagine looking at a piece of machinery and seeing AR overlays triggered by an agent, showing real-time sensor data, maintenance history, or the status of a related workflow.
      • Spatial Workflow Visualization: For complex workflows, visualizing the nodes and their status spatially in AR could be intuitive.
    • Virtual Reality (VR):
      • Immersive Monitoring/Control Rooms: A VR environment to visualize complex system states, monitor multiple workflows simultaneously, or collaboratively troubleshoot issues.
      • Workflow Simulation: Simulating complex agent interactions in a VR space before deployment.
    • Ambient Interfaces:
      • Notifications: Smartwatch pings, subtle desktop notifications, or even changes in ambient lighting (e.g., a smart bulb turning red if a critical workflow fails).
      • Embedded Displays: Simple status dashboards integrated into physical devices or control panels.
    • Gestural Interfaces: In AR/VR or specific hardware setups, using gestures to interact with agents or manipulate workflow visualizations.

  4. Agent as the Interface: Sometimes, the best UI is no UI. The agent performs its task autonomously based on triggers and delivers the result directly (e.g., updating a database, sending an email summary, controlling a device) without requiring direct user interaction for that specific step.

Imagining Specific Scenarios:

  • HITL Task: Instead of just a web inbox:
    • A notification pops up on your phone with "Approve/Reject" buttons.
    • A Slack message from the agent: "Data anomaly detected in batch X. [View Details] Approve processing?"
    • Voice prompt: "Workflow 'XYZ' requires approval. Say 'Approve' or 'Reject'."
  • Workflow Monitoring: Instead of just a web dashboard:
    • Ask your smart speaker: "How many workflows failed today?"
    • Look at a factory machine through AR glasses and see the status of the agent controlling it overlaid.
    • Receive a weekly summary email generated by a monitoring agent.
  • Triggering a Workflow: Instead of clicking "Run":
    • Tell a voice assistant: "Start the customer onboarding workflow for [New Customer Name]."
    • Scan a QR code on a physical item to trigger an associated inventory management workflow.
    • An agent automatically triggers a workflow based on an incoming email or sensor reading.

Key Principles for a Universal UI:

  • API-First: The platform must expose comprehensive APIs for state, control, and interaction to support diverse frontends.
  • Adaptability: Interfaces should gracefully degrade or enhance based on the available modality.
  • Seamlessness: Interactions should feel integrated into the user's current context, not like switching to a separate "agent app."
  • Clarity: Regardless of the modality, the user should understand what the agent/workflow is doing and what input is needed.
  • Reactivity: Leveraging Svelte 5's fine-grained reactivity system to ensure UI updates are efficient and responsive across all contexts.
  • Progressive Enhancement: Building interfaces that work without JavaScript first, then enhancing with Svelte's capabilities.

By thinking in terms of context, modality, and API-driven interactions, you can design a platform where AI agents truly have a universal presence, integrated naturally into the user's digital and physical environment.