The Knot's half bot / half human wedding planner component of the iOS app. She provided concierge service via a chat UI to brides-to-be*. The service was well-liked, so with a 3-month deadline I was contracted to help prove profitability.
*Users were predominantly women, planning their first wedding.
Interview Human Louisas
The "Louisas", as they were fondly called, were experienced wedding planners who provided concierge service to brides via the chat interface. They shared with me their wealth of knowledge regarding brides' expectations and what Louisa could actually deliver. The following are some highlights.
Worried about money
Don't know where to start
Stressed out
Planning feels like a second job
Solve money related problems
Resolve relationship stresses
Find vendors that meet expectations
Make the dream wedding a reality
Suggest alternative options and vendors to fit budgets
Advise on sensitive ways to deal with personal conflicts
Educate brides about etiquette and expectations, and suggest ways to navigate outside of those norms
Curate theknot.com's content to answer questions
Help brides distill their likes and dislikes into a defined style and vision
Provide knowledge on a wide range of traditions, across cultures
Affirm and support brides when they need it
Educate brides about the typical order of operations for smooth wedding planning
Provide one-on-one personal attention
Distill Reports & Studies
It's always a treat to have access to analytic reports and studies conducted by a dedicated in-house research team. These are the first friends I make at the start of every project. I pored over their treasure trove of proprietary data to understand the bigger picture.
Wedding planning pain points
Wedding priorities
Budgets
Bride demographics
Competitor tools used at various stages in the planning process
Analyze Chat Transcripts
Analyzing a random sample of confidential chat transcripts I learned the importance of the human connection Louisa makes with the brides, as well as a handful of other insights.
Some brides questioned whether Louisa was human or not
Louisa's automated (bot) responses were often clumsy and awkward and got in the way of the conversation
Brides showed immense gratitude once Louisa proved her helpfulness
Some brides formed an intimate relationship with Louisa
After learning that users see The Knot as a trusted source of wedding planning advice and inspiration, I designed a way to frame the site's free content in Louisa's voice. This would allow us to demonstrate Louisa's expertise outside of the chat experience. It was also important to follow the rules of non-spammy notifications, and make sure Louisa offered advice only when it was timely, relevant and useful.
In-Chat Content Curation
Depending on the user's answers to automated questions, (bot) Louisa would suggest an article from TheKnot.com, to highlight Louisa's value as content curator.
Venue Insights
For brides who learn that choosing a venue dictates most other decisions, Louisa adds some additional insights on how to make that choice.
Checklist Advice
Since the checklist was one of the most popular reasons brides downloaded the app, it was the most obvious place for Louisa to add contextual value.
Working closely with the Product Manager and developers, I designed various paywall tactics that were A/B tested, and iterated on any design that showed a hint of success.
Human Louisa
WINNING TACTIC: Emphasis on "talk to a real" wedding planner with the use of photograph avatars instead of the Louisa icon
Comparison
Illustrating Louisa's value by highlighting the downsides of her competitor — the broad search of The Internet
Stats
Graphic overview of Louisa's collective experience and range of abilities
Testimonials
Using social proof to express Louisa's values
