Solving The 'Blank Page' Problem for Educators and Students
Pivoting from generic Chatbots to Agentic Workflows to solve user paralysis.
It all started when...
We launched a powerful AI chatbot for educators and students. First-time users stared at the blinking cursor, paralyzed by the infinite possibilities of a blank page. They didn't want to have a conversation; they wanted to get a specific task done.
My Role
The Insight: I observed that the cognitive load of 'defining intent' (prompting) was higher than the value of the output. The open text box was a barrier, not an enabler.
The Strategy: I deconstructed the 'do it all' Chatbot AI into specific Agentic Workflows. Instead of asking 'How can I help?', we offered buttons for 'Generate Quiz', 'Generate Lesson Plan', 'Generate Step-by-Step Explanation'—mapping AI capabilities to familiar 'Jobs to be Done.'
The Progressive Disclosure: I didn't kill chat; I relegated it. I built a flow where standard UI captures the initial intent (Step 1), and the Chat interface only appears *after* the result is generated (Step 2). This gives novices a guided start while reserving conversational power for advanced refinement.
Results
80% Student Success Rate achieved in pilots by removing prompt friction (up from 5% baseline).
Zero-Training Adoption: Teachers could use the tool immediately without thinking about their intents.
Unblocked Enterprise Sales because defined workflows are easier to visualize and understand their impact.