Virtual Agents (and Assistants) Aren't Ready for Mass Consumer Use Cases

To be clear, the technology is impressive - its aspirations, capabilities, and more. Using it involves too much friction today for most consumers. Conversations on agentic or assistive applications for consumers still focus too much on what the technology can do and not what consumers want or will use.

MIT's Tech Review published this blurb from The Washington Post:

virtual-agents-and-assistants-aren-t-ready-for-mass-consumer-use-casesI let OpenAI’s new “agent” manage my life. It spent $31 on a dozen eggs.Operator, the new AI that can reach into the real world, wants to act like your personal assistant. This fun review shows what it’s good and bad at—and how it can go rogue. (The Washington Post)

These tools aren't ready because they:

• Lack context. Our brains make so many implicit decisions based on our history as humans. Call it short- or long-term memory. Even if there is an egg shortage, $31 per carton is a lot. 

• Can't make good (for me) judgement decisions. Call it experience. The author (Gregory Fowler) may not have a budget for what he wants to pay for eggs, but he probably knows what is too much - despite the current shortage. 

• Are too slow. These browser-based agents aren't magically skipping steps. They are navigating on our behalf - at times more slowly than we could do ourselves. And then they need help or have questions along the way as they learn. 

• Are not conversational. You have to be very explicit with them - whether continuing or starting a new task. Your language has to be clear - so think "yes" vs. "yeah." 

• Struggle to pivot when they can't complete the assigned task. If you want to give your agent an objective function with each task, you will find that there is simply too much friction in using them. Just because eggs are $31 doesn't mean you don't want eggs. You may still want them - just from another shop or another type. You may want to substitute another food for them. 

• Need your personal information to make purchases. I tried to use one of these tools to renew my vehicle registration. After some struggles, the agent wanted me to input my personal information - name, address, etc. On one hand, I wasn't sure where this information would land. Second, once I need to fill in my own information, I wasn't saving much time.

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