Onboarding Gamification for AI SaaS tool

overview
Pipio, an AI text-to-video platform, faced a key challenge - although users were signing up for trials, many found it difficult to identify the platform’s immediate value within their workflows and desired more education. Within 2 sprints, we established an onboarding gamification experience to increase engagement by 15% and conversions by 10%.

tools
Figma
Amplitude
Hotjar

Small Business Owner

"[Pipio] has mostly what I need but I'm sure there are other things I could be taking advantage of if there were more education or tips."

Marketer

"The avatar quality is impressive, it just wasn't immediately clear to me how I could use [the platform] to make my life easier"

DISCOVERY

We started by analyzing user behavior using Amplitude analytics to pinpoint friction points in the user journey. The data revealed that most trial users created and edited a project but left the platform before exporting a video.

As a result, these trial users never experienced the AI avatar bringing their words to life, which is a key value proposition of the product. Additionally, two other critical features, video dubbing and custom avatar creation, were often overlooked by users, indicating a lack of awareness about these capabilities.

We conducted a handful of user interviews to quickly validate our assumptions and the insights confirmed two primary issues:

Users felt overwhelmed by the features & were unsure how to start
Users struggled to see how the platform could integrate into their workflows

From this point, the solution became clear: we needed to implement a stronger user onboarding experience. To guide our approach, we conducted a rapid assessment of the current onboarding process and performed a competitive analysis, drawing inspiration not only from direct competitors but also from best-in-class onboarding flows in adjacent markets. This ensured we designed an experience that was both effective and innovative.

DESIGN

We quickly drafted up what we believed would be the ideal user flow and collaborated with the team to see what would be feasible within a one-week sprint. After aligning on our path forward, we were able to build 1 new organism to add to our design system that facilitated the initial implementation of the flow.

Within the first one-week sprint, we designed and implemented an MVP onboarding flow that:

Collected basic demographic information from users to personalize their experience
Highlighted use cases relevant to users’ workflows to demonstrate immediate value
Provided every free trial user with an Express Avatar credit
Introduced a gamified walkthrough of the platform’s features, allowing users to earn free credits for completing specific onboarding tasks

Feature Overview

AI Video Flow - Use Case Specific Templates Introduces users to pre-created templates tailored to their unique needs based on responses from the onboarding questionnaire. These templates allow users to experience the AI avatar capability with minimal effort, providing options to either make small tweaks or directly export a video.
Seamless Video DubbingGuides users through the process of dubbing pre-existing video content into a different language, complete with lip synchronization.
Custom Avatar CreationEncourages users to explore the in-app Custom Avatar creation tool. This feature allows users to record a brief 2–3-minute video of themselves using their webcam, enabling them to generate a personalized digital twin for future video projects.

TESTING & ITERATION

We launched the MVP onboarding flow and tracked user behavior and feedback through completion rates, engagement metrics (i.e. the number of projects started and exported, dubbing videos requested, and custom avatar requests), and conversion rates from trial to paid subscriptions.

After conducting usability tests with the initial participants of our user research study, we identified opportunities to further enhance the user experience. While users noted improvements in making interacting with the different features more intuitive, they also highlighted areas where additional guidance or an assist would make the process more seamless.

We introduced supplementary tooltips throughout the AI Video experience. These optional prompts provided helpful guidance to users who needed it while remaining unobtrusive for those who intuitively navigated the platform. This ensured a smoother and more accessible experience for all users.

Outcome

Engagement increased by 15%, with more users completing their first project during the trial period.
Conversions improved by 10%, as users gained a clearer understanding of the platform’s value and how it fit into their workflows
We received positive user feedback overall as it relates to reducing the learning curve and boosting confidence in using the platform
Users also expressed dissatisfaction with the duration of the training process for both video dubbing and Custom Avatar creation

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

User feedback revealed opportunities to improve the gamification of the onboarding flow, making it more engaging and enjoyable. While users appreciated the idea, they suggested it could be more rewarding with clearer incentives and interactive elements, like celebratory moments, to better highlight achievements. In response, the team proposed supplementing the simple progress check marks with a more dynamic badge-earning system, where users would earn badges for completing steps and receive incremental credit rewards.