More Than a Chatbox: Designing AI Features That Fit How Government Works
Pair Chat gave government officers secure AI access. The harder problem was designing features that matched how officers actually work, not just handing them a chatbox.
85.3kmonthly active users
82 minssaved per task
70%of the public service using Pair
Role
Senior product designer
Team
Three engineers, one PM, one product operations lead
Timeline
2023-2025
Why
Officers loved Pair Chat for quick questions and brainstorming, but core government work needed reliable structures for drafting, reviewing, and repeating tasks.
How
Writing templates and assistants moved the product beyond a blank chat box by matching recurring officer workflows and keeping review explicit.
A blank chat box is flexible, but flexibility pushes work back to the user.
The useful design work was deciding where AI should become a feature instead of
another prompt.
