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Sean Roberts: How to create better UX with AI Agent Experience (AX)

Links

- Codecrafters (sponsor): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- Agent Experience: https://agentexperience.ax

- Arrazo: https://spec.openapis.org/arazzo/latest.html

- Netlify: https://netlify.com

- Sean on X: https://x.com/JavaSquip

- Tejas on X: https://x.com/tejaskumar_


Summary


This episode dives deep into the emerging field of Agent Experience (AX), exploring how software agents, including LLMs, will interact with the web and online services. The conversation highlights the distinction between the "human web" and the "agent web," emphasizing the need for new approaches to ensure agents can effectively understand context and execute tasks.


Key topics include contextual alignment protocols like MCP (Machine Context Protocol), and standards such as `llms.txt` and `agents.json`, alongside efforts like Arrazo, which aim to provide structured information and enable complex workflows for agents. A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the challenges of authentication for agents, moving beyond human-in-the-loop processes and complex systems like OAuth2 towards more agent-friendly, secure, and auditable solutions, possibly involving dedicated agent user identities.


The dialogue also covers practical considerations like providing data to LLMs efficiently, the importance of API accessibility for agents, and the need for businesses to adapt to this new paradigm of interaction. Finally, the conversation underscores that AX is a rapidly evolving area, transitioning from theoretical concepts to practical applications, with a strong call for community collaboration to develop best practices and robust solutions for the future of agent-driven web interactions.


Chapters


00:00 Intro

03:35 Exploring Agent Experience (AX) and Its Importance

06:23 Understanding the Role of Model Context Protocol (MCP)

09:22 The Principles of Great Agent Experience

12:24 Agent Accessibility and Its Challenges

15:34 Contextual Alignment: Enhancing Agent Interaction

18:31 Human-Centric Design in Agent Experience

21:23 The Future of AI and Agent Experiences

24:25 Improving Human Accessibility Through Agentic Experiences

27:29 Primitives of Agent Accessibility

30:22 Avoiding Human in the Loop Patterns

33:19 Authentication in an Agentic World

38:34 Navigating API Token Strategies

43:30 Contextual Alignment: The Next Frontier

55:50 Understanding Agents vs. Bots

01:00:19 Optimizing Contextual Alignment for Agents

01:14:11 Understanding Website Infrastructure and Cost Implications

01:14:37 The Role of LLMs in Web Navigation

01:17:54 Quantifying ROI in Web Technologies

01:19:43 Introduction to Arazo and Workflow Management

01:24:26 Measuring Human vs. Agent Interaction

01:30:28 The Emergence of Agent Experience (AX)

01:38:09 Five Principles of Agent Experience (AX)


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