Category: AI Companion App Design

Role / Services: Independent Designer of Final Major Project (MA)/ User Research, Design System, Branding and UI/UX Design

Year: 2024 - 6 months

The rising need for digital emotional support has led to increased use of AI companions. (“AI Companions for Lonely Individuals and the Role of Social Presence,” 2022) This project involved analyzing existing AI companion apps like Replika and Kuki AI to identify their strengths and areas for improvement. I pinpointed vital features to improve user experience through surveys and UX research. This led to developing a new AI companion mobile app called Calmate, designed to better meet users' emotional support needs.

To assess problems while discovering insights gathered from personalised data using various sources; Prioritized key takeaways to create design decisions for Calmate.

The core audience of Replika and Kuki AI, separate are the US and Brazil, and the primary user device is Mobile(US: 62.39%\ Brazil: 92.05%); the Product Audit analysed the result by SEMRUSH, so for the upcoming research and design, I focus on the Mobile device.

After the Ten Usability Heuristic evaluation, I identified significant concerns about the user interface, such as incorrect tooltip content, excessive technical jargon, and overwhelming interface information. These issues can confuse users and increase bounce rates.

I utilized Lyssna and Google Workspace to conduct user interviews, contextual inquiry, and the System Usability Scale (SUS).

5 Participants from India and Canada were explicitly chosen to gather diverse insights relevant to the North American context. The interviews effectively captured critical insights from ChatGPT's core audience in the United States and India, focusing on frequent AI use, motivation for seeking support, and pertinent improvement suggestions.

Current AI companions lack genuine emotional connection. Users want more human-like interactions, quick feature loading, emotional depth, and complex conversations.

The Complex Companion Preference Setup processes need to be more concise. Users require clarification on setting up a user avatar and an AI companion.

User concerns about data privacy, ethical handling of sensitive topics, and how AI companions maintain neutrality.

AI companions can improve by focusing on personal data privacy, straightforward setup, and meaningful conversations. The persona revealed, "Tech-savvy users who expect more than basic functionalities from an AI companion". Therefore, AI companions should mimic human interaction and use user-centered design.

Enhance AI Interaction Realism: Clarify options with better UI cues, creating various and conscious interactions.

Simplifying Setup: Encourage app exploration with an intuitive first-time user experience.

Address Ethical and Privacy Concerns: Ensuring transparency and trust, making users feel secure about their personal information.

Feedback Loop: Actively involve users in the process of evolution by boosting user engagement and satisfaction with the app's development.

To build a platform that was easy to use, while protecting user privacy; and offering personalised and engaging features.

My approach was to

Customise the AI's appearance, personality, and interaction style through six key questions and tooltip explanations, reducing the user's cognitive load and understanding costs.

Distinguish between settings for customising the AI companion and the user avatar to avoid confusion experienced in other apps like Replika.

Replace number-level statuses with intuitive relationship definitions.

Provide enhanced information on data usage in the "More" section of the app, prominently featuring "Account Security" and "Feedback Form" for easy navigation.

The app offers users the choice of four communication modes tailored to their selected topics, ensuring more accurate and context-aware responses. It also facilitates quick-start conversations through direct messaging, allowing the AI to learn and adapt to the user's communication style, providing a personalised and dynamic user experience.

Considering user feedback, I redesigned the brand and design system for a new app to ensure its identity stands out from competitors such as Replika and Kuki AI.

For example, one participant suggested avoiding a medical look for the app. Considering the product brand's tone, I changed the colour palette to warm brown and purple in the second version, using reddish-brown and grape as the primary and secondary colours to create a positive and calm style.

Crafting the first part of the User Journey Map involves utilising online ads, app store listings, recommendations, and driving traffic to landing pages to spark user interest. Incorporating the landing page into the design process enhances the overall design.

Reflecting on Calmate's journey of development, it is clear how important user feedback and continuous iteration are in creating a truly impactful AI companion.

Calmate's next steps focus on making the app more engaging and user-friendly.

This involves:

Testing within the Replika community via Maze to Usability Testing will gather diverse feedback to make the app more user-friendly.

Advanced prototyping will be explored, potentially integrating ChatGPT technology, OCR and VR capabilities for more practical and immersive features.