Building a Gen-AI Assistant
User Base
51k
App Rating
4.5
Assistant is an AI Chatbot designed to help people invest. With assistant, people can do faster, better research, get help making decisions, plan for a goal, manage their portfolio, and learn while they invest. Magnifi helps them find and buy investments from a marketplace of over 15,000 stocks and funds. And assistant can even analyse their existing investments that they hold at other brokerages. We think of assistant like a co-pilot for people investing — like Siri or Alexa went to investment school.
My Role
For the past 2.5 years, I have been leading the design efforts for our AI Assistant. In this role, I have overseen the design and launch of 10 significant features that had a positive impact on the conversion rate for the platform. I have also spearheaded the creation of a scalable design system for the AI Assistant, ensuring design consistency across both desktop web and mobile app experiences.
Feb 2022 - June 2024
The Opportunity
Magnifi aimed to create a personal financial assistant that understands users' goals and motivations, aligning with the vision of making personal investing accessible.
With the introduction of the assistant, the goal was to offer tailored investment plans based on each user's unique situation, providing personalized recommendations and insights to optimize their portfolio and investment strategies.
Evolution of the platform
When we initially launched the platform, the focus was more on functionality and gaining early user validation of the product. Upon a successful beta launch, focus was then shifted towards enhanced user experience of the platform.
Beta Launch
Magnifi's initial beta launch prioritized a core objective: understanding how early users interact with the platform; with the focus being on function and not form.
To achieve this, we offered a limited feature set, concentrating on:
User base
Our primary audience believes investing is their path to financial freedom. They’re level-headed, not gamblers. They envision the power of the markets and responsible strategies (with a little guidance) will empower their futures.
Notably, approximately 74% of our users are mobile-first, accessing our app via their phones, reflecting the contemporary trend towards convenient and accessible investment platforms.
Personas
To understand our user base better, we conducted a comprehensive research exercise. This analysis helped us identify distinct user segments and categorize them into unique personas. At a high level, these were the most prominent types of users -
User needs and journey
Understanding our users is paramount. To achieve this, we identified distinct user personas, representing the different types of investors who utilize Magnifi.
We didn't stop there. We took a deep dive into each persona, meticulously mapping out their ideal investment journey. This process involved pinpointing their most critical needs – the aspects of Magnifi that would deliver the most value to them.
Evolving to meet user needs
Our commitment to user-centricity drove a critical decision. Through remote user research and analysis of platform usage, we identified a need to significantly enhance Magnifi's scalability and support a wider range of user experiences (user flows).
To achieve this goal, we embarked on a strategic redesign. This involved carefully deconstructing the existing user experience and rebuilding it from the ground up. Throughout this process, we ensured the new Magnifi prioritized the following:
Fulfilling evolving user needs: The redesigned platform directly addresses the revised user needs identified through research.
Scalability for future growth: The new architecture ensures Magnifi can seamlessly accommodate a growing user base and future feature additions.
Supporting diverse user journeys: The redesigned user flows cater to a wider range of user types and investment goals.
A cohesive user experience from the re-start
Building Magnifi from the ground up presented a unique opportunity. We weren't just crafting a platform; we were laying the foundation for a holistic user experience.
This included the development of a comprehensive design system, built to scale alongside the product itself. The design system ensured:
Visual Consistency: A unified design language across the app and website, guaranteeing a seamless user experience.
Scalability for Growth: The design system is flexible and adaptable, allowing for future expansion without compromising visual coherence.
Custom Design Elements: This includes the creation of unique iconography and illustrations specifically tailored for the insights section, enhancing user engagement and clarity.
Enhancing the data visualisation
Data serves as the driving force behind our core product, empowering users with engaging experiences, intelligent feedback, and valuable insights into their portfolios and performance. The key lies in effective data visualization, ensuring that users can easily comprehend and interpret the information presented to them.
Recognizing the need for improvement, we undertook an essential upgrade from our previous graphics approach, which solely focused on visually representing graphs and charts better. The goal was to create a more intuitive and digestible experience for our users.
Portfolio Price Chart Simulation
Sector Performance Chart
Displaying realtime gains/losses in a users' portfolio when the market is open