A while back, I worked on a product where influencers could turn themselves into AI personalities, and users would pay to interact with them.

Not just chat. Calls, images, subscriptions to specific characters.

A layered monetization model: - Tokens for usage (chat, calls, images) - Subscriptions for deeper access - Platform takes a % cut

On paper, it’s simple. In reality, it raises one core question: How do you design for long-term LTV in a product like this?

Because novelty fades fast.

You need to think about: - Emotional retention (why come back to this AI?) - Content freshness (does it evolve or feel static?) - Progression (does the relationship deepen over time?) - Spend loops (are users nudged without feeling pushed?)

And then there’s distribution.

We assumed desktop. We considered native apps. But real usage told a different story: Mobile web won.

Which changes everything: - Performance becomes product - Friction = drop-off - Payments, UX, and speed need to feel native without being native Designing in this space isn’t just about UI. It’s behavior, psychology, and business model. All tightly coupled.