Consent and Agency
AI products make decisions, take actions, and process information on behalf of users. Consent and agency design ensures users remain in control — understanding what the AI does, agreeing to it, and being able to override it.
Informed Consent for AI
Users should understand and agree to:
- What data the AI uses: Conversation history, personal data, uploaded documents, browsing behaviour
- What the AI does with it: Training, personalisation, sharing with third parties, storage
- What actions the AI takes: Sending messages, making changes, accessing systems
- What the AI can't do: Limitations that might affect the user's expectations
Consent is not a checkbox at sign-up. It's an ongoing design challenge throughout the experience.
Designing for Agency
Agency means the user feels — and is — in control:
- Opt-in over opt-out: AI features should be activated by the user, not imposed
- Reversibility: AI actions should be undoable wherever possible
- Override mechanisms: The user can always stop, redirect, or override the AI
- Exit paths: The user can disengage from AI assistance at any point without penalty
- Preference controls: The user can adjust AI behaviour, scope, and autonomy levels
Consent Patterns
- Progressive consent: Ask for permission incrementally as new capabilities are needed, not all at once
- Contextual consent: Ask at the moment the action is about to happen, not in advance
- Granular consent: Let users consent to specific actions or data uses, not blanket permissions
- Revocable consent: Users can withdraw consent and have that withdrawal take effect
Agency Anti-Patterns
- Dark patterns: Making it hard to opt out or override the AI
- Consent fatigue: Asking for permission so often that users click through without reading
- Learned helplessness: AI does so much that users forget how to do things themselves
- Invisible actions: The AI takes actions the user doesn't know about
- Irreversible defaults: AI actions that can't be undone without user awareness
Design Artefacts
- Consent flow diagrams per feature
- Agency checkpoint specifications
- Override mechanism inventory
- Data use transparency matrix
- Opt-out path designs
1---
2name: consent-and-agency
3description: Designing for informed user consent, opt-out, and human override.
4---
5
6# Consent and Agency
7AI products make decisions, take actions, and process information on behalf of users. Consent and agency design ensures users remain in control — understanding what the AI does, agreeing to it, and being able to override it.
8## Informed Consent for AI
9Users should understand and agree to:
10- **What data the AI uses**: Conversation history, personal data, uploaded documents, browsing behaviour
11- **What the AI does with it**: Training, personalisation, sharing with third parties, storage
12- **What actions the AI takes**: Sending messages, making changes, accessing systems
13- **What the AI can't do**: Limitations that might affect the user's expectations
14Consent is not a checkbox at sign-up. It's an ongoing design challenge throughout the experience.
15## Designing for Agency
16Agency means the user feels — and is — in control:
17- **Opt-in over opt-out**: AI features should be activated by the user, not imposed
18- **Reversibility**: AI actions should be undoable wherever possible
19- **Override mechanisms**: The user can always stop, redirect, or override the AI
20- **Exit paths**: The user can disengage from AI assistance at any point without penalty
21- **Preference controls**: The user can adjust AI behaviour, scope, and autonomy levels
22## Consent Patterns
23- **Progressive consent**: Ask for permission incrementally as new capabilities are needed, not all at once
24- **Contextual consent**: Ask at the moment the action is about to happen, not in advance
25- **Granular consent**: Let users consent to specific actions or data uses, not blanket permissions
26- **Revocable consent**: Users can withdraw consent and have that withdrawal take effect
27## Agency Anti-Patterns
28- **Dark patterns**: Making it hard to opt out or override the AI
29- **Consent fatigue**: Asking for permission so often that users click through without reading
30- **Learned helplessness**: AI does so much that users forget how to do things themselves
31- **Invisible actions**: The AI takes actions the user doesn't know about
32- **Irreversible defaults**: AI actions that can't be undone without user awareness
33## Design Artefacts
34- Consent flow diagrams per feature
35- Agency checkpoint specifications
36- Override mechanism inventory
37- Data use transparency matrix
38- Opt-out path designs
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