ChatGPT
- Problem solving
- Versatile text generation
- Intuitive mobile experience
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Conch.AI - AI Chatbot app
Conch AI is a customized AI chatbot app that can make emotional communication available anytime and anywhere.
- Role
- UX/UI Designer
- Timeline
- 3 Months
- Responsibility
- User research,UI design,WireframingHigh-fidelity screens
Overview
Problem
People have a natural need for social connection, yet the process of building it can leave them anxious and isolated, whether they are joining a new community, living far from family, or facing career setbacks. Yet connecting with real people can bring emotional pressure, such as the worry of being judged, becoming a burden, or hurting the relationship.
Solution
Conch is an AI companion app that offers emotional support anytime, anywhere. Users can open up to AI characters freely, with no judgment and no pressure, and receive thoughtful, caring responses.
Conch supports everyday emotional companionship and is not a replacement for professional mental health care.
Approach
Research
- Competitor analysis
- User interview
Ideation
- Affinity map
- User flow
Design
- Wireframes
- Usability testing
- UI design
- High-fidelity screens
Main Features
Research
Competitor Analysis
To better understand the AI companion market, we analyzed leading chatbot products across conversation, character customization, monetization, and community features—learning from both their strengths and usability gaps.
Replika
- Realistic avatars and environments
- Appearance customization
- Multimodal communication
- Clear paid features
CHAI
- Romantic AI conversations
- Intuitive interactions
- Bot creation and customization
X Eva
- Advanced AI model
- Clear paid features
Glow
- AI-assisted character creation
- Community engagement
Opportunity
Most competitors focus on utility, customization, or entertainment, but few create emotionally expressive conversations without social pressure.
Key Findings
Character Appeal
Distinctive characters make conversations more approachable.
Emotional Presence
Visual and emotional feedback makes waiting and chatting feel more engaging.
Sustainable Monetization
Clear paid features can support both user value and business goals.
Creative Community
Community features encourage character discovery and creation.
User’s Voice
We interviewed five participants to understand their needs and expectations for AI companionship. The statements below are paraphrased from recurring interview themes.
A session with a psychologist is so expensive—I can’t afford it.
Sometimes I really need to release some pressure by sharing my deeper thoughts, but it’s hard to find a good listener.
Being judged when I’m looking for suggestions isn’t helpful.
Talking to a chatbot can feel boring. I mostly see it as a problem-solving tool, not something I can share my feelings with.
Who are we solving for?
Based on recurring interview patterns, we created a synthesized persona representing our target users’ shared needs, pain points, and goals.
Alex
- Age
- 23
- Gender
- Male
- Location
- New York City
- Mood
- Feeling isolated
- Occupation
- Marketing Associate
Bio
Alex grew up in a small town and moved to New York City for college. He now works as a junior marketing associate at a digital agency. Tech-savvy and highly connected, he relies on his smartphone for both work and social engagement.
Pain Points
- Needs accessible emotional support during periods of loneliness
- Professional support can feel financially inaccessible
- Finds it difficult to communicate with others
Goals
- Build new friendships and find local support groups to reduce loneliness and isolation
- Find emotional support in a confidential space where he can talk openly without fear of judgment
Affinity Map
We translated our research insights into four design opportunity areas: character creation, chatting, sense of presence, and incentives. These themes helped turn user needs into focused product directions.
Feature Prioritization
We evaluated the proposed features by user value and development cost to determine which ideas to prioritize.
User Value
Development Cost
Prioritize
Facial ExpressionMake Waiting FunCharacter 3D ModelsText Effects
Explore Next
OwnershipReferralsImmersive OptionsHook
Consider Later
Dear DiarySubscription
Lower Priority
Spontaneous BehavioursQ&A CreationOut-of-app Notice
Workflows
We mapped the workflow to clarify the relationships between key features, decision points, and user paths before moving into interface design.
Design Iteration
After mapping the workflow, we translated the key user paths into wireframes and conducted usability testing. The feedback guided our design iterations and helped us refine the overall experience.
Onboarding
We designed the onboarding experience with enhanced visuals to build trust early, clarify the app’s value, and let users explore popular characters before signing up.
Explore
We improved the exploration experience with a clearer search system and preference-based recommendations, helping users discover characters that better match their interests.
Creation
We streamlined the character creation process with guided basic settings and flexible advanced options, helping users create personalized characters with less effort.
Chatting
We enhanced the chatting experience with emotional feedback and dialogue inspiration, making conversations feel more natural, engaging, and supportive.
Usability Testing Outcomes
Qualitative testing helped us validate the revised flows and identify where clearer guidance was still needed.
Earlier Value Recognition
Showing popular characters before sign-up helped participants understand the app’s purpose sooner.
Clearer Character Discovery
Search, filters, and preference selection reduced uncertainty when choosing a character.
More Confident Conversations
Emotional feedback and dialogue inspiration made it easier to respond and continue chatting.
These are qualitative findings; no performance metrics were collected.
Final Design
Feature 01
Onboarding
Help users understand the app and explore its content before creating an account.
The redesigned onboarding introduces Conch’s value early and previews the core character-browsing experience.
Explore Before Signing UpProvide popular characters for unregistered users to explore.
View Character DetailsView the character’s detailed display page.
Feature 02
Find a Character
Make character discovery clearer, faster, and more visually engaging.
Search, filters, and preference-based matching help users find characters suited to their interests and begin conversations with less effort.
Search and FiltersUse search, filters, and categories to quickly find relevant characters.
Preference-Based MatchingSelect personal preferences to discover characters that feel like the right match.
Feature 03
Chatting
Make conversations with AI characters feel more expressive, natural, and engaging.
Emotional reactions and dialogue prompts help users sustain conversations and feel more connected.
Emotional Feedback When ChattingExpressive reactions and animations make conversations feel warmer and more engaging.
Inspiration DialogueClick for inspiration, choose from multiple dialogue options, and send the preferred sentence.
Feature 04
Create Your Own Character
Guide users through character creation while reducing unnecessary manual input.
A progressive setup separates essential choices from advanced customization, making character creation faster and easier to understand.
Guided Basic SetupComplete the essential character information through a clear and guided setup.
Advanced CustomizationRefine personality, voice, appearance, and other details after creating the character.
Feature 05
Finance & Profile Management
Make character performance, earnings, and account tools easy to understand and manage.
Centralized profile and finance tools help creators monitor characters, manage earnings, and update settings efficiently.
Character & Earnings ManagementView character earnings and detailed information, then edit individual character settings when needed.
Finance & Account ManagementManage wallet balance, purchases, referral rewards, account information, and support from one profile.
All Screens
Reflection
Warmth Requires Transparency
Designing emotionally supportive AI means balancing warmth and personality with clear expectations about what the product can provide.
Prioritize Moments, Not Feature Count
The strongest experience came from improving a few meaningful moments rather than adding more functions.
What I Would Explore Next
Future testing should examine long-term engagement, accessibility, emotional safety, and how users’ needs change over time.