Why AI products' empty-state design failure leads to high user drop-off

Summary

The article argues that AI chat products have abandoned decades of UX research on "empty states" (the initial blank screen users see before engaging with a product) by replacing them with a simple prompt input box. This design choice leads to high first-session drop-off rates because users are given no guidance, onboarding, or context. The author draws on firsthand experience as a founder and engineer, noting that traditional empty states served to orient, educate, and motivate users, while AI prompt boxes assume users already know what to do. The piece critiques the industry's over-reliance on the prompt box as a universal interface and suggests this creates UX gaps that third-party tools can fill.