Leveraging Personas for an AI Discovery Engine
HachiAI evolved from a traditional AI persona platform into a discovery engine that combines the reliability of AI with the quirks of a natural friend.
100%
First & Only project to receive 100% on the final grade
100%
First & Only project to receive 100% on the final grade
ROLE
UX Designer & Prototyping Lead
TEAM
4 designer, 1 researcher
TIMELINE
3 months
problem
AI should feel less like a tool and more like a human ally.
Hachi started as an AI companion designed to foster parasocial relationships. In 3+ months we were tasked with a mission to launch a mobile web that fits these two goals:
USER WANTS
An AI companion that felt human, useful and insightful.
STAKEHOLDER WANTS
To humanize AI with and provide results that feel personalized and insightful.
Research
Understanding the User
The research goals were to refine Hachi AI’s target user group and understand how to provide meaningful social-emotional support.
44+ survey responses
15+ interviews
Competitive Analysis
UX Audit
What We Learned
AI companions fall into two categories. Hachi's goals will be to occupy that "sweet spot"
Assistant/Tools
Convenience and productivity.
Hachi’s Opportunity
Bridge the gap between the two.
Companion/Characters
Innovation and personalization.
The AI + persona space has been mostly about building parasocial relationships. We saw magic in a different approach—leveraging personas to help users discover niche insights they'd never think to look for.
which led us to asking…
How might we leverage AI to provide judgment-free, opinionated, and personalized recommendations while balancing stakeholder goals for organized insights?
Ideation
North Star
We ideated solutions using an Impact-Effort Matrix, prioritizing ideas that balanced user value, business goals, and feasibility.
The Final Design
Introducing Hachi AI
An opinionated search engine that not only give answers but provided guidance, acting as both a resource and a partner.
Prototype ↗
Not-so-typical Recommendations
Hachi combines data with personality, providing thoughtful, judgment-free answers.
Multiple Personas
Ability to go to different "friends" for different type of problems.
Multiple Opinions
Each personality brings a fresh perspective, so you can get different answers without repeating yourself.
Tailor-made Feedback
Let your buddy know whether you're loving it, curious, or need a bit more convincing!
User Testing
Our Impact With Our Tested Features and Changes
New UX flow gives instant value
Doubled user-inititated conversations
"User preferred the new UX flow. It provided instant value compare to the old questionnaire style"
STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK
"The number of conversations initiated by the user has gone up by 2x with the group chat feature"
STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK
"It's so much more fun with multiple Hachis. Definitely better than the last version"
EMILY JOHNSON
"It used to feel like I have to answer a lot of questions…the new [UX] experience helps me understand the purpose of Hachi right away!"
SONG JI-AH
Reflections
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Next Steps:
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