Monochrome to Technicolor: The Maturing of AI Design

Open ChatGPT. Now switch to Claude, Perplexity, or Gemini.

At a glance, the dominance of the grey/white nondescript chat box is overwhelming. You see the same functional patterns everywhere: text input at the bottom, rising chat bubbles, sidebar history, and a sea of tech-focused monochrome.

It is easy to look at this uniformity and critique a lack of imagination. But something interesting is happening beneath the surface. AI design is maturing, moving into a more narrative-driven and distinct space. Slowly but surely, the colour is coming back.

We are witnessing the first wave of AI brands breaking out of the conformity trap.

For the last two years, priority number one was function. The chat interface became the steering wheel of AI, a universal standard that users instantly understood. Deviating from that similar design would have been risky.

But as the market settles, the strategy is shifting. The underlying interaction pattern remains consistent (because it works), but the brand experience is beginning to diverge sharply. We are seeing a move away from "AI as a generic utility" toward "AI as a distinct personality." Furthermore, as the novelty of AI fades, the need for identity rises. Brands that once relied on technical invention must now find their voice, because in a sea of identical chatbots, personality is the only way to stand out.

Who is Leading the Breakout?

The platforms currently winning the brand war are those that realised a uniform chat box isn't a constraint, it is a canvas for divergence.

• Twelve Labs: Twelve Labs is a prime example of rejecting the abstract tech trope. Instead of generic nodes or constellations, they have anchored their identity in the history of cinema. By naming their video AI engines after famous horses (Marengo, Pegasus), they nod directly to Eadweard Muybridge’s 1878 The Horse in Motion, the birth of the moving image. Their visual identity swaps standard tech palettes for a sophisticated, editorial aesthetic, reinforcing their authority on "video as volume."

  
  

• Claude: While competitors race to look futuristic with neon dark modes, Claude is quietly redefining the category by leaning into warmth. Utilising serif fonts (a rarity in tech), a beige-and-terracotta palette, and human-focused micro-copy, they position themselves not just as an LLM, but as a thoughtful partner. It is a deliberate move to feel less like a machine and more like a distinct, benevolent intelligence.

The New Battlefield

This signals a new phase in the industry. The question is no longer "will brand experience matter?". Leading players are proving that it already does.

As LLM performance remains a neck-and-neck race, technical specs are becoming less of a moat. Functional performance gets users in the door, but a distinct brand personality determines who stays, who advocates, and who pays a premium.

The era of the generic chat interface isn't over, but the era of the generic AI brand is drawing to a close.

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At Propellant, we help organisations identify their distinct DNA, turning overlooked positioning opportunities into lasting advantage.