ditto is an AI-powered marketing assistant designed specifically for small businesses and agencies looking to automate their marketing quickly and effectively. As the sole UX designer, my role was to craft an onboarding experience that immediately demonstrated value, simplified complexity, and established early trust in ditto’s AI capabilities.
In this case study, I discuss how I used principles like progressive disclosure, thoughtful onboarding design, and strategic monetisation to create an engaging and effective first-time user experience.
The Challenge
The main challenge was to design an onboarding experience that clearly demonstrated ditto’s AI strength without overwhelming the user. Since ditto performed most tasks automatically, there was a risk that users could feel disconnected or uncertain due to limited direct interaction. Users needed clear reassurance that ditto genuinely understood their brand and marketing objectives, ensuring minimal effort on their part would yield high-quality results.
User Goals & Pain Points
Early research revealed that small business owners, particularly solo entrepreneurs, valued simplicity and immediate results. Users wanted an intuitive onboarding process that showed clear, quick benefits without requiring significant initial setup or manual data entry.
Design Approach & Solutions
Initially, onboarding asked users to immediately connect social media accounts and provide detailed information upfront. However, integration with Shopify made it clear this approach added unnecessary friction. Recognising this, I redesigned the onboarding process completely, postponing less critical tasks like social account connections and focusing first on immediate user value: creating their first marketing campaign.
Using progressive disclosure, I developed a step-by-step onboarding tutorial:
Background AI Processing: While users progressed through the onboarding steps, ditto quietly analysed their store data in the background, removing tedious setup work.
Interactive Tutorial: The onboarding experience guided users through campaign creation interactively, ensuring every step was straightforward, engaging, and informative.
Minimal and Contextual UI: I used ditto’s flexible design system to present only essential information at each step. Progressive scrolling and subtle interactions kept users confident and oriented without causing overwhelm.
Challenges & Iterations
A notable challenge involved designing ditto’s content calendar. Initially, we assumed users wanted to see all AI-generated content upfront. However, usability tests revealed users valued quality and tangible examples more than quantity. I adjusted the design accordingly, emphasising quality content samples rather than overwhelming the user with volume, resulting in a simpler and more satisfying user experience.
Balancing Monetization & UX
Developing subscription tiers presented unique UX and business challenges. AI processing costs varied significantly depending on the models used. To balance profitability and user value, I strategically aligned tasks to suitable AI models, clearly defining subscription tiers based on content quantity and type:
Free Tier: Users received one high-quality pillar content piece per week and three AI-generated social posts, subtly branded to promote ditto.
Upgrade Path: Users nearing tier limits saw gentle, unobtrusive prompts highlighting the benefits of higher tiers, maintaining simplicity and user trust while effectively encouraging upgrades.
To control costs, we limited open-ended interactions. Instead of an open-ended chatbot, ditto used predefined user flows, ensuring predictable operational costs and maintaining high-quality outputs.
Results & Impact
Our initial beta user’s reaction was extremely positive. She was impressed by ditto’s precise understanding of her brand voice and marketing goals. The simplified onboarding allowed her to effortlessly create her first campaign, clearly demonstrating ditto’s value without any confusion or overwhelm.
Key Learnings
Immediate Value Drives Engagement: Demonstrating quick, tangible outcomes significantly boosted user confidence and trust in ditto.
Balance Simplicity and Monetisation: Clear, valuable subscription tiers without intrusive upselling maintained user trust and effectively encouraged upgrades.
Empathy Builds Trust: Understanding the practical limitations faced by small business users informed pricing and feature decisions, ensuring ditto remained accessible and approachable.
Creating a thoughtful, user-focused onboarding experience not only simplified initial user interactions but also clearly communicated ditto’s long-term value, positioning it for sustained user adoption and success.
