Winner 2025
UX Design Award · Product category
HP AI Print
Bringing AI to the one place nobody expected it
- Role
- Lead UX
- Research
- Sept 2024 to Feb 2025
- Platform
- PSA print driver, Chrome plugin
- Status
- US launch, Oct 2025
Printing looks like a solved problem. Our survey said otherwise: people still fix their documents by hand before hitting print, and not one of the forty users we asked expected artificial intelligence to help them do it. That gap, between what people put up with and what they imagine possible, is where this project starts.
Experience the industry's first AI-powered printing solution with HP AI for print. Designed for both home and office users, it ensures clean, readable, and efficient prints by automatically removing clutter and optimizing layouts. Save time, supplies, and frustration with every print.
- Smart customization
- Sustainable output
Research
We surveyed forty users on three things: what they print, how familiar they already are with AI, and where they expect to meet it. Three findings shaped everything that followed.
Websites are the third most printed source, and the one users correct by hand.
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98PDFs
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88MS Word
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78Websites
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73Images
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53Private emails
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45MS Excel
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25MS PowerPoint
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23Work emails
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18Others
What do you print most often? · n = 40
Nine users out of ten already use AI at least moderately.
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63%moderately familiar
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30%very familiar
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13%slightly familiar
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5%somewhat familiar
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0%not at all familiar
How would you rate your experience with AI? · n = 40
Nobody expects AI in printing. That zero is the whole opportunity.
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75%search & information
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60%virtual assistants
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43%education & learning
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43%content creation
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23%hiring
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23%e-commerce & retail
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18%autonomous cars
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0%printing
Which industry is most impacted by AI? · n = 40
Web pages are printed almost as often as PDFs, and they are the format people fight with the most: headers, sidebars, adverts and broken page breaks all have to be removed by hand, every time. Meanwhile nine users out of ten already use AI somewhere in their day, and none of them expects to find it in a printer. The audience is ready and the category has no incumbent, which is exactly the brief.
Who we reached during all testing phases
US Chrome web users who print from the web monthly took part, across various jobs and genders
rounds of mixed methodology research including unmoderated, moderated, and interviews
segments of users participated in each research: Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomer
Learnings from high fidelity prototype testing
users indicated a strong likelihood of using the tool, with 20% stating it would fully replace their current printing methods.
users reported that the experience exceeded their expectation and considered HP AI Print to be a “game changer.”
users expressed willingness to pay for the tool. 30% prefer a one-time purchase, while 18% favor a subscription model.
From Chrome plugin to PSA driver
How the concept was tested with live code and targeted users
Early in the exploration phase, a lightweight Chrome extension was built to rapidly test ideas, combining user interviews with feedback from hundreds of users.
When transitioning from the HP AI Chrome plugin to the HP AI Print Driver, the top tab system was replaced with a sidebar icon menu, greatly improving scalability and making room for future features.
Iteration through research
How the design progressed through 5 months of user validation
September 2024 Research
Removing Chatbot
44% of users preferred having both the chatbot and buttons, but the majority clearly favored the button interface.
Buttons were favored for simple tasks, while the chatbot was reserved for more complex interactions.
Based on this feedback, efforts are now focused on further training the AI to reliably handle advanced requests, a prerequisite before reintroducing the chatbot as a feature.
Dedicated settings
Some users found the inline print settings confusing, so the full controls were moved to the menu bar.
86% of users easily located the new button, while the remaining users described it as a one-time learning curve that posed no lasting issue.
This change enhanced scalability for future print options, reduced visual clutter in the AI tools column, and allowed font controls to appear above the fold.
Contrary to what most AI tools might suggest, users consistently preferred a simple, button-based alternative to a chatbot, praising its clarity and ease of use. This unexpectedly required clarification that the button interface was, in fact, powered by AI.
November 2024 Research
Original Print
57% of users in September post-interviews requested the ability to view the original document before AI adjustments. In response, the feature was introduced and tested.
While the majority continued to prefer the AI-generated version, access to the original increased user confidence in the tool's reliability.
It also served as the most effective fallback for printing in the event of AI failure or internet disconnection.
“Optimized” Print
With the introduction of the original preview, some users became unsure of which version the Print button would produce.
They required clear confirmation of whether the “Original” or “Optimized” version would be printed.
To resolve this, the Print button label was updated to dynamically reflect the selected version. This simple adjustment eliminated confusion entirely during the next text phase.
Confidence in the solution initially led to overlooking the fact that access to the original document was not just a technical fallback. It was, above all, a source of reassurance for users.
December 2024 Research
Suggested tools
To help users achieve the most efficient output, an auto-suggestion feature was introduced and tested.
However, it created more confusion than value. Given the intuitive nature of the existing tools, users didn't feel the need for additional guidance.
The feature was ultimately removed, with the option to redesign and reintroduce it in the future if needed.
- 86% Succeeded to the task without the suggestion tool.
- 71% Succeeded while using the suggestion tools.
Layout tools
63% of users found the thumbnail interface confusing, often in surprisingly creative ways, despite its initial appeal.
To address this, the thumbnails were replaced with a simpler button combination.
This change not only resolved the confusion but also freed up vertical space in the Toolbox column, contributing to a cleaner, more efficient layout.
As we explored ways to guide users toward perfect output, it was the users themselves who reminded us of our product's greatest strength: simplicity.
January 2025 to February, Research and Final Validation
Last simplification
In a final push for simplification, the “Original” toggle was replaced with a tab system, introducing a true footer beneath the preview.
This also allowed print details to be placed next to the Print button, improving coherence and making the tools column cleaner and easier to scan.
Experience Metrics
On a scale of 7, users rated the experience as follow
- 6.4 Usefulness
- 6.3 Ease of use (Increase from 5.9 in Oct 2024)
- 6.7 Ease of learning (Increase from 6.6 in Oct 2024)
- 6.2 Satisfaction
A simple structural adjustment brought greater clarity and ease, quietly elevating the overall experience.
Final UI
1.0 UI design
The interface had to read as HP first and as an AI product second. We extended the existing HP language with a small set of AI-specific components rather than building a parallel system next to it.
- AI controls Gradient
- Sidebar, active #4659F3
- Selected #6475FE
- Unselected #EDF1FD
- Surface #DFE1ED
- Panel #FEFFFD
Expanding the impact
Optimizing other types of printable content is on the roadmap and coming soon
The plan includes customization for both single and threaded emails. Threaded emails, in particular, often contain excess layout elements and spacing, leading to unnecessary paper use.
Additionally, users will be able to customize both content and structural elements of the email's automated data: sender, app logo, recipients, date, and more.
Excel
Printing spreadsheets remains a major source of frustration. Even experienced users often struggle to understand what will be printed and how it will appear on the page.
HP Print AI aims to simplify this process by letting users select content and customize spreadsheet output through intuitive visual cues.
Future updates will allow users to customize the order of each content element as well.
UX Design Award
Winner 2025, Product category
Printing from the web has long been a frustrating experience, involving cluttered pages, wasted paper, and orphaned lines. HP AI Print quietly fixes all of that. Using AI in a smart way, it removes irrelevant content, optimizes the layout, and delivers clean, readable results.
Design Team
Quentin Gautier Marie Beau de Lomenie, Michael Peters, Cameron Palmer, Godwin Joseph, Bharati Dixit, Cecily Jones, Adolfredo Sembergman, Jason Wang, Judy Cheng, Gaurav Agrawal and Pete Hwang
HP Inc. · Global Experience Design
