Story
When the AI takes a few seconds before it answers, I want to see what it is doing right now, so I know it is working on the right thing and not stuck.
Nadia, renting her first flat in Manchester, checking the lease on her phone before she adopts a cat.
- 01 Setting
Nadia sends her 40-page lease with 1 question: "Can I keep a cat?"
- 02 Trigger
The answer takes about 8 seconds - long enough to wonder if anything is happening.
- 03 Without it
A spinner and "Processing…" for 8 seconds. She can't tell if it read her file or if it is stuck.
- 04 With it
1 line says what is happening now: reading page 20 of 40, then finding the parts about pets.
- 05 Outcome
The answer names clause 14.2. She trusts it - she saw it read the right file.
Live demo
This demo follows a script, so it plays the same every time - there is no real AI behind it. Change a setting to see the same moment play out differently.
What happens, step by step
| State | The person sees | The AI is | When | Screen reader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Her question and the file name in the ask bubble. Send has turned into Stop. | Starts work. | 0 s | - |
| 2 | "Reading lease.pdf · page 20 of 40", with the count going up. | Reads the file. | after about 1 s | “Reading lease.pdf” |
| 3 | The line changes: "Finding the parts about pets". | Searches the file. | - | “Finding the parts about pets” |
| 4 | "Checking clause 14.2 and 3 others". | Checks the matches. | - | “Checking 4 clauses” |
| 5 | The line goes away. The answer streams (arrives word by word) in its place. | Writes. | about 8 s | “Generating a response” |
| 6 | The answer, naming the clause it came from. | Idle. | when done | “Response complete” |
On each device
- phone
- 1 line under the ask. Long file names are cut in the middle (lease-2026…final.pdf), so the end stays readable.
- tablet
- As on the phone.
- desktop
- As on the phone, with room for the count on the same line.
When to use it
- The wait is longer than about 1 second, so people notice it.
- The AI does work people would recognise - reading a file, searching, checking. Naming it shows it is on track.
- There is 1 stage at a time, so 1 line is enough.
- The answer starts in under 1 second. A message would only flicker. Use Streaming response instead.
- The work has several stages people may want to check afterwards. Use Thinking and processing steps instead.
- The work takes minutes. People should be free to leave. Use Long-running tasks and notifications instead.
The parts of the pattern
- AMoving indicatorSmall dots that show the AI is still working. They stop when motion is reduced.
- BVerb and object"Reading lease.pdf". What it is doing, to what - in her words, with her file name.
- CCount"page 20 of 40". A real count when there is one. Never a made-up percent.
- DStopSend turns into Stop for the whole wait.
Do and Avoid
Can I keep a cat?
Reading lease.pdf · page 20 of 40
Can I keep a cat?
Processing…
0.4 s
Yes, with written consent. Clause 14.2…
0.4 s
Loading…
then the answer, a blink later
Writing and accessibility
- Use a verb and the real thing: "Reading lease.pdf", "Searching 3 sites". Not "Processing…" or "Thinking…".
- Add a count when there is a real one: "page 20 of 40".
- No end punctuation and no "please wait": "Finding the parts about pets".
- Don't promise what you don't know. Avoid "Almost done" unless it is.
- Put the line in a polite status region (a part of the page a screen reader announces on its own, when there is a pause). Announce when the stage changes, not every page count.
- Don't move focus to the message. People keep their place.
- With reduced motion (a device setting that turns off animation), the dots stand still. The words still change.
- Stop stays a real button named "Stop" for the whole wait.
Seen in real products
- PerplexityWeb · Jun 2026"Completed N steps" opens to plain-language steps such as "Searching the web".AI UX Playground teardown, Jun 2026 ↗
- CometAndroid · Nov 2025The Android browser shows what action the assistant is taking while it works.TechCrunch, 20 Nov 2025 ↗
Each example comes from the product’s help pages, release notes or teardowns, with the month it was checked. Products change every month - tell us when 1 is out of date.
Check yourself
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