AI interface is responsive across device sizes
Why it matters
Mobile traffic to SaaS and AI products routinely exceeds 40% of sessions. An AI chat interface with a fixed-width sidebar, clipped input area, or sub-44px touch targets fails WCAG 2.2 SC 1.4.10 (Reflow) — content must reflow at 320px without horizontal scrolling. Beyond compliance, a chat UI that is not usable on mobile excludes users on lower-powered devices who rely on it most. Fixed sidebars that overlap the conversation area on small screens are the single most common failure mode and are trivially fixable with a single conditional CSS class.
Severity rationale
High because an unusable mobile layout blocks a substantial portion of real users from the product's core function, not merely a degraded experience.
Remediation
Implement sidebar collapse for viewports under 768px using a toggle button in the mobile header. Verify the chat input area and message list are scrollable without horizontal overflow. All action buttons (copy, regenerate, stop) must be at least 44×44px to meet WCAG touch target requirements.
// src/components/chat/ChatLayout.tsx
const [sidebarOpen, setSidebarOpen] = useState(false)
<div className="flex h-screen overflow-hidden">
<aside className={[
'fixed inset-y-0 left-0 z-50 w-64 bg-background border-r transition-transform',
sidebarOpen ? 'translate-x-0' : '-translate-x-full',
'md:relative md:translate-x-0',
].join(' ')}>
<ConversationList />
</aside>
<main className="flex-1 flex flex-col min-w-0 overflow-hidden">
<header className="md:hidden flex items-center gap-2 p-3 border-b">
<button
onClick={() => setSidebarOpen(true)}
className="p-2" /* 44px touch target via padding */
>
<MenuIcon className="w-5 h-5" />
</button>
</header>
<MessageList className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto" />
<ChatInput className="shrink-0" />
</main>
</div>
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.
External references
- wcag:2.2 · 1.4.10 — Reflow — content reflows without horizontal scrolling at 320px width
Taxons
History
- 2026-04-18·v1.0.0·Initial import from ai-ux-patterns·automated