AskCR is your AI-powered product expert, offering suggestions, resolving queries and diagnosing product issues. All backed by the extensive knowledge base of Consumer Reports.

Platform: iOS + Web Role: UX/UI Design

Consumer Reports challenged us to explore what an AI chatbot could look like when built on decades of trusted research and reviews. The core requirement was simple but powerful: chatting with AskCR should feel like interacting with a knowledgeable and dependable friend.

To achieve this, we designed an approachable conversational interface that prioritized clarity and confidence. The experience was intentionally simple, allowing the content and recommendations to take center stage while reinforcing Consumer Reports’ role as a trusted authority.

Trust was a foundational design principle throughout the experience. Loading states were carefully crafted to communicate when AskCR was retrieving information or formulating a response, helping users understand what was happening behind the scenes and where information was coming from.

While the interface was anchored in chat, we introduced structured UI elements to support decision-making and reduce cognitive load. Product cards were embedded directly into the conversation, giving users quick access to relevant recommendations without breaking their flow and link to in-chat models to display ratings and product details.

This approach preserved context and encouraged exploration, reinforcing AskCR’s role as a guide rather than a destination. Users could move fluidly between asking questions and evaluating products without losing their place in the experience.

I was primarily responsible for interaction design, UI exploration, and prototyping across key flows including chat, product cards, loading states, and subscription upsells. I collaborated closely with product and engineering to explore how conversational UI could integrate with Consumer Reports’ existing data and design standards.