Ultra PatternsAI interface patterns with receiptsULTRA project

Pattern 10 · Chat or assistant · Explanation pattern

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Why this question

Seen in a case Built for a real case and observed with its users, or built for a case whose user test is still to come. No controlled comparison yet.

Practice view. What to build, the words on screen and how to measure it. Switch to Research for why it should work, the framework properties and the references.Research view. The research side is shown below the card: why it should work, the properties it targets and the references. Switch to Practice to hide it.

Each follow-up question from the assistant carries a short reason, such as "so I can match you with experts in your sector", visible before the user answers.

WhyThe hypothesis, to be tested with FORCIT, is that people answer more willingly and more precisely when they know what the answer is for. The reason also exposes questions that have no good reason, which is a design signal in itself.

WhenGuided conversations that collect information for a downstream step: matching, routing, drafting.

Not whenCasual chat where every question is obviously in service of the reply.

The system shows how it works The right amount of trustCase: FORCIT Signal Studio (company approval pending)

Done right, done wrong

Schematic screens, not real products. Click a screen to enlarge it.

Right. Question, then a grey line: 'so that we can match the right expertise'.

Wrong. A chain of questions with no stated purpose; the user abandons at the third.

In practice

Signal Studio’s guided conversation asks a few questions to sharpen a challenge before matching. The variant with reasons is one of the candidates for the FORCIT user test, alongside the highest-value-question and one-question-plus-fast-lane variants.

Words on screen

"Which sector is this for? So we can match experts who know it.""Skip this question"

Obligations to keep in mind (AI Act, GDPR)

Say what the answer is used for; it is also the honest way to ask for data. (O1, IUI 2026, Table 1)

Design considerations, not legal advice or a conformity assessment. What O1 to O5 mean.

Build it

Illustrative signatures, not a published library: the names below are suggestions to adapt to your stack. Thresholds are examples to tune on your own data.

States: asked, answered, skipped

Component: <FollowUp question={q} reason={r} onSkip={fn} />

Prompt snippet: For each follow-up question, return a reason under twelve words that names the downstream benefit for the user. Skip questions without a reason.

Measure it

Users get how it decides · 10 min They want to keep using it · 3 min Plan your testTen minutes per participant is the usual budget: pick the two or three cards that fit.

Same idea, other names

Microsoft HAX: G11 Make clear why the system did what it did

All the libraries we build on

Applied by: nobody yet · Replicated by: nobody yet · Used this pattern? Tell us and get listed

Try it

Open the demo

Research side · why it should work

Why it should work

The mechanism, notes and references for this card are written together with the science editor at KU Leuven Augment. Until then this side lists the properties the pattern targets and the contexts in which it was seen.

Properties targeted

Understanding model behaviour · Trust · Intention to use · Axes: scope: local, type: rationale, format: text, interaction: inline · Vocabulary bridge

Across contexts

Context	Users	State	Result
FORCIT challenge brief	innovation managers	Seen in a case	pattern 16 of 26 in Signal Studio; user test to be scheduled
Your context			Bring your case

Editors

Practice: Abasin Abdul Khalil · Science: Ivania Donoso-Guzmán · card v1.0 · 2026-09-02