AI behavior settings or preferences panel exists
Why it matters
Two users of the same AI product want different things from it — one wants terse bullet-point answers, another wants long-form prose; one wants responses in Spanish, another in code blocks only. When every parameter is hardcoded in the system prompt, the product optimizes for the median user and disappoints everyone else. A small settings panel with response style, language, and a custom-instructions textarea dramatically widens the product's fit across the user base at minimal engineering cost.
Severity rationale
Medium because hardcoded behavior caps customer fit but does not break the core flow.
Remediation
Persist a user_preferences row keyed by user id with at least response_style, language, and custom_instructions fields. Inject the selected style into the system prompt on each request. Expose the settings at /settings/ai and mirror to localStorage for anonymous users. Implement in app/settings/ai/page.tsx.
const systemPrompt = `${BASE_PROMPT}\n\nResponse style: ${prefs.responseStyle}. ${prefs.customInstructions ?? ''}`
DetectionPro
The detection method for this pattern is part of AuditBuffet Pro.
The full method (what to look for, pass and fail conditions, and how results get reported) ships inside the AI UX Patterns Audit. The pattern definition, severity rationale, and remediation remain openly licensed under CC-BY-4.0.
Taxons
History
- 2026-04-18·v1.0.0·Initial import from ai-ux-patterns·automated