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Outputs

Progressive Disclosure

Show a basic answer first. Open sources, steps, tools, or advanced controls on demand. Calm by default. Depth for people who ask for it.

Interactive demo

Competitive landscape for AI note apps?

Notion and Obsidian still win on flexibility and export. Dedicated AI note apps (Mem, Reflect) are faster at capture and recall, but weaker on teams and long-term portability. Most buyers stay in Notion for switching cost; local-first users stay in Obsidian.

Overview

How might we design progressive disclosure so people can trust and act on AI output?

When to use

  • Perfect for long-form content, research reports, and complex AI outputs where users need both high-level summaries and detailed information on demand.

When to skip

  • Safety-critical details that must be visible before consent or execute (do not hide risk).
  • Expert-only consoles where collapsing essentials adds clicks without helping novices.
  • Tiny answers where “show more” is pure chrome with no extra content.

Rules

  • Hiding irreversible side effects behind Show more or Advanced.

  • Endless nested accordions that bury the primary answer.

  • Different disclosure rules on mobile vs desktop with no shared hierarchy.

  • Default-collapsed citations or errors that users need to trust the claim.

Evidence

ProductImplementation
ChatGPTCompact replies with expandable reasoning, sources, or tool details.
ClaudeArtifacts and extended thinking open from the thread when needed.
PerplexityAnswer first; research steps and Links available as deeper layers.
GeminiOverview-style answers with expandable related content and tools.

Real-world examples

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FAQ

What is progressive disclosure in AI UX?

Progressive disclosure shows a simple default (usually the answer), then lets users expand sources, steps, tools, or advanced controls when they need more depth.

Should citations be progressive or always visible?

Keep at least lightweight provenance visible on claims users must verify. Deeper source lists can progressive-disclose; hiding all evidence by default weakens trust.

How does it differ from progressive feature unlock?

Progressive disclosure hides UI complexity on a single screen. Progressive feature unlock gates capabilities over time as the user learns or upgrades.

When is progressive disclosure unsafe?

When permissions, spend, deletions, or legal notices are tucked behind Advanced. Anything authorizing a side effect belongs above the fold.