Human-AI Collaboration

Intent Preview

Before any significant action, the agent presents a clear, scannable summary of what it intends to do - showing planned steps, reversibility status, and edit controls for user approval.

What is Intent Preview?

The Intent Preview pattern addresses a core anxiety in agentic AI: users need to understand what will happen BEFORE it happens. Unlike traditional AI where the user explicitly types a prompt and evaluates the response, agentic actions may be initiated proactively or involve consequences that are difficult to reverse - sending emails, booking flights, modifying files. This pattern shows a clear, scannable summary of planned actions using plain language (not technical jargon), with each step marked for reversibility and editable by the user. The preview must be sequential for multi-step operations, highlight irreversible actions visually, and never auto-dismiss. This transforms the approval moment from a binary yes/no into a structured review that builds trust and catches misunderstandings before they cause harm.

Example: Claude — Change Preview

Claude showing proposed file changes with review and modify controls before applying edits

When Claude proposes to create or edit files, it shows the intended changes before applying them. Users can review, modify, or reject each change individually, maintaining full control over multi-step operations.

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