In a recent LinkedIn post, Teresa Torres highlights how interface design can significantly impact user perception and adoption of AI-powered tools. Torres discusses the experience of ShowMe’s AI sales agents, which were initially underutilized because visitors failed to grasp their full capabilities.
As Teresa Torres observed, early users of ShowMe’s AI sales agents often defaulted to requesting human interaction, overlooking the advanced functionalities of the AI. This led to a disconnect between the AI’s potential and user engagement.
“But early on, many website visitors didn’t realize how capable the AI was — they’d immediately ask to talk to a human.”
Torres explains that the key to unlocking user engagement and driving conversions lay not in the AI’s functionality itself, but in how it was presented to the user. The breakthrough came when ShowMe shifted its approach to the user interface.
The Power of Familiarity in User Interface Design
According to Teresa Torres, the critical change involved making the AI interaction feel more akin to a familiar human-to-human communication channel. By redesigning the interface to emulate platforms like Google Meet or Zoom, ShowMe effectively bridged the gap between user expectation and AI capability.
Torres points out the profound effect this design choice had on user behavior. When the AI’s environment mirrored the tools people regularly use for professional communication, their approach to interacting with the AI transformed.
“Make the experience feel like a real video call. When ShowMe designed the interface to look like Google Meet or Zoom, something shifted.”
This shift, as highlighted by Torres, demonstrates a fundamental principle in human-computer interaction: familiarity breeds comfort and encourages deeper engagement. By reducing the cognitive load associated with learning a new interface and interaction style, ShowMe allowed users to focus on the AI’s capabilities.
From Skepticism to Conversion: The Impact of Design
Teresa Torres argues that this user-centric design approach directly translated into improved business outcomes. Once the interface felt like a natural extension of existing communication habits, users began to interact with the AI more authentically and effectively.
As Teresa Torres noted, the results were tangible: “People started engaging with the AI the way they’d engage with a colleague — and conversions followed.” This suggests that for AI tools, particularly in sales and customer-facing roles, the user experience and interface design are as crucial as the underlying artificial intelligence.
The insights shared by Torres underscore the importance of considering the human element in the adoption of new technologies. Even the most advanced AI can falter if users are not guided to understand and trust its capabilities, and often, the simplest design choices can be the most effective in fostering that trust and driving desired actions.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Teresa Torres on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on February 20, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →