All tests run on an 8-year-old MacBook Air.
All results from shipping 7 Mac apps as a solo developer. No sponsored opinion.
Every app has an AI button now. Most of them are annoying. Here's how I approach AI UI in my Tauri apps.

The problem with most AI UI
The bad pattern: a prominent "Ask AI" button that's always visible, always tempting users to click it, and produces results that take 3 seconds to load with a full-screen loading state.
The result: users click once, wait, get a mediocre response, and never click again. The button becomes visual noise.

What works: contextual, fast, optional
Contextual: the AI button appears near the content it analyzes, not in a toolbar. In HiyokoLogcat, the "Diagnose" button appears next to each log entry. In HiyokoHelper, the analyze button appears next to the clipboard content. The button makes sense where it lives.
Fast feedback: show something immediately. Even if the full response takes 2 seconds, stream the first tokens within 200ms. The user sees progress. Waiting feels shorter when something is happening.
Optional: AI features are enhancements. The app is fully usable without clicking the AI button. Users who want it will find it. Users who don't won't be forced through it.

The loading state that works
Don't show a spinner for 2 seconds then replace everything with text. Stream the response:
typescriptconst [response, setResponse] = useState('')
const [isStreaming, setIsStreaming] = useState(false)

// As chunks arrive from Gemini streaming
listen('ai-chunk', (event) => {
setResponse(prev => prev + event.payload)
})
Text appearing character by character feels fast even when it isn't.

The error state that doesn't panic users
When Gemini returns a 429 or 503, don't show a technical error. Show:

"Analysis unavailable right now. Try again in a moment."

One sentence. No stack trace. No HTTP status code. The user doesn't care why it failed — they care what to do next.

The API key UX
Apps that require an API key have an onboarding problem. Users don't want to get an API key before trying your app.
Solution: make the AI features clearly optional, show them working in screenshots/demos, and make the API key setup flow short. Three steps maximum: get key → paste key → done.

The verdict
AI UI that respects the user's attention works. Streaming responses, contextual buttons, graceful degradation on errors. The "AI" label doesn't make a feature valuable — solving a real problem does.

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