by Mark Wagner
Imagine a world where you no longer need to wade through endless menus, type precise search queries, or navigate layers of options to find what you need. Thanks to AI-enhanced performance support, that dream world is a growing reality. The evolution from “two clicks” to “one click” to “no clicks” is transforming the way we interact with technology.
In the early days of digital tools, I preached this mantra to my content team: “No more than two clicks.” While it gave users control, it also demanded time and effort. Enter “one-click” solutions: task lists, predictive text, and more intuitive interfaces that streamlined the process. But even then, the burden still fell on users to act.
AI is revolutionizing this paradigm. Performance support tools, driven by AI, are now capable of anticipating users’ needs. Rather than waiting for you to search, these systems proactively deliver information and/or tools at the exact moment you need them. Recently, I was able to observe an insurance employee looking for state regulations with the help of AI using just one click. AI brought back the accurate answer and very clear reference points, examples, and scenarios based on the query. But the future is not just about fewer clicks: it’s about none at all. As AI understands what users repeatedly do in business software, it can target the content most useful to an individual user. I recently asked Microsoft Copilot a learning question. It recognized my background in learning and asked for my expert opinion as part of the information exchange.
The “no click” approach isn’t about removing user control. It’s about enhancing efficiency. By eliminating unnecessary friction, AI frees up our time and mental energy for higher-value tasks. As we continue to integrate AI into our workflows, the future could see performance support so seamlessly embedded that technology almost disappears, becoming an invisible ally in achieving our goals.
In this new era, the measure of efficiency isn’t how fast you can navigate; it’s how little you need to navigate at all. Welcome to the world of “no clicks.”