AI chat UI
An AI chat UI is a thread of messages and a prompt input where the answer arrives while it is written. Neither iOS nor Material 3 ships a component for it, so the message row and the composer are drawn by the app.
Why it matters
The answer arrives over seconds and can fail, so the design needs a state for the unfinished answer and one for the error, not only for the finished one.
Apple asks to keep people in control: let them dismiss or retry output, and say clearly when and where AI is used.
AI chat UI on iOS and Android
Also called Chat interface, Prompt composer, Message row, Streaming response. The same idea in each system, with the values Appetite UI gives it.
| Value | iOS | Android | Appetite UI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Generative AI guidance, no chat component | No chat component | Message and Prompt composer |
| User message in the file | 280 bubble pushed right | Same message | See below |
| Assistant message in the file | No container, full 361 | Same message | See below |
In Appetite UI
Message has two roles and three states. Streaming hangs a 28 by 6 row of three dots under the answer, and Error swaps the answer for a 12 radius panel with a reason and a Retry button. The Prompt composer has five states: Empty, Typing, Generating, Disabled and Attachment.
Suggestion chips, source cards, the tools menu and the model picker are the kit’s existing Chip, Card, Context Menu and Dropdown.
Example
A person asks a question. The assistant row shows three dots, then the text grows into the row; if the request fails, the row becomes an error panel with Retry and the composer stays editable.
Common mistakes
- Showing nothing between the send and the first words.
- An error that discards what was typed. Keep the prompt.
- Presenting AI output as if a person wrote it. Apple says never to trick someone into thinking so.
- No way to stop a long answer.
Questions
Do iOS and Android have a chat component?
No. Neither ships a conversation or a prompt component, so apps draw their own.
What states does an AI message need?
At least the finished answer, the streaming answer and the error, and for the composer: empty, typing, generating and disabled.
Sources
The pages the facts above rest on, each read October 30, 2026.