Designing Better First Interactions

A core goal of Maia is to serve as an on-ramp to AI for traditional micro- and small-business owners in emerging markets. One barrier we encountered is well known in HCI literature: blank-page syndrome. When the first thing users see in an AI tool is an empty text box—“Cuéntame tu problema”—many fall off the onboarding process. But immediately directing users to specific use cases can hide one of AI's key benefits over traditional e-learning tools (it range) and will also cause new user fall-off if the specific examples are irrelevant for them.

Weekly Active Users as a % of Cohort

One approach we tried was to deliver specific use cases gradually, the first and second week after a user first connected. The idea was to have a very open interaction first, to experience Maia's versatility, and then give more specific examples of how other owners are using it. Seemed like a good idea, but one week was just too late, with too many users dropping off up-front from blank-page syndrome. Even moving the examples to just 23 hours after their first connection was too late. If a busy business owner doesn't see value right away, they are out.

The other approach is to give the examples up-front. We first did this with an optional button (press 💡 if you'd like some examples of how other entrepreneurs have used Maia), but even the small friction of the button reduced use, so we modified the flow to quickly give example questions to everyone (eg 'Send a photo of your menu or your signature dish, and I'll give you ideas to make them look irresistible' for Maia restaurants, 'how can I improve my presence on social media' for artisans). 

The winning approach is starting more specific and then exposing the users to the broad range over time, rather than starting broad and teaching specfics over time. Quick business wins with minimal friction are essential, and because MSMEs share common needs, we can offer use cases that are both specific and broadly relevant.