Designing the long AI wait

The assistant needs 12 seconds to answer.

Show progress. Give control.

Weak version: Long AI wait — **Weak**A spinner for 12 seconds. No idea what is happening or how to stop it.

Strong version: Long AI wait — **Strong**Visible steps, streaming text and a stop button.

How to apply it

Show what the AI is doing in steps people recognize, not a generic spinner.
Stream partial results as soon as they're useful.
Always offer a way to stop, and keep what was produced so far.

Where it breaks

When latency grows and the UI was designed for 2 seconds.

Related patterns

AI fails halfway · An error says what happened and what to do next.
Agent takes a money action · Money actions need a way back.
Model isn't sure · Don't show a percent. Ask the question that decides.
Confident answer, no source · A claim without a source is a guess.
All 10 AI UX patterns

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