In the AI era, these push strategies have evolved from mass “broadcasting” to personalized, predictive reminders. Instead of merely informing, the system builds predictive models through deep analysis of behavior signals (e.g., usage timing, feature frequency, browsing duration).
This enables precise delivery of content moments before a user might disengage. By optimizing push timing—such as sending notifications during users’ habitual study hours—Duolingo increased app open rates by 27%.
Streamlined Onboarding: From “Manual” to “Smart Guide”
Onboarding is critical in the user journey and essential to achieving strong retention. Traditional onboarding often resembles a long product manual. Next-generation onboarding instead focuses on helping users quickly reach the product’s “aha moment.”
This is achieved by reducing registration friction, offering contextual feature tips, and teaching through interactive actions.
AI elevates onboarding from static “feature explanations” to dynamic, personalized guides that understand user intent and provide tailored paths toward their goals.
A strong example is the presentation tool Gamma. Facing low retention, Gamma didn’t treat AI as a mere add-on. Instead, it deeply integrated AI into its core onboarding flow, solving the classic “blank page paralysis.” New users no longer need to manually drag components; they can simply describe their ideas in natural language and begin instantly.
AI-Driven Mode Innovation
The following strategies show opportunities unlocked through AI-native interaction design.
AI Recommendation Assistant: From “Clunky Pop-ups” to “Friendly Recommendations”
Users often stick to only a handful of familiar features and fail to discover the rest. Traditional pop-up prompts are disruptive and can cause annoyance.
A smarter approach is to introduce an AI character that subtly recommends features through natural conversation.
A long-established Middle Eastern voice-chat app recently achieved remarkable results by integrating AI companions:
4× increase in single-day session duration
25% decrease in conversion costs
Its success came from deep anthropomorphism and localization. Powered by RC’s AI Agent capabilities, the AI character speaks fluent Arabic and mimics natural human chat rhythms, making users feel like they’re interacting with a real person.
With well-designed conversational scripts, the AI can recommend activities and build emotional connection through “soulful” conversations—becoming a powerful driver of user retention.
From Online to Offline: Anchoring Users with “Physical Touchpoints”
When digital interactions reach sufficient depth, giving users a “physical anchoring point” in the real world becomes a strong strategy for long-term retention. This allows virtual companionship to extend beyond the screen and integrate into users’ real lives and social relationships.
AI social app Tolan does this through a “friend visit” mechanism. Users can invite real-life friends to explore their AI-generated virtual planet, turning AI into a fun, low-pressure medium for social connection instead of a barrier.
AI Ice-breaking & Chat Assistance: Efficient Social Support
Breaking the ice is particularly challenging in stranger social scenarios. “Matching” is just the start—the real difficulty lies in saying the first sentence and keeping the conversation alive.
Here, AI becomes a powerful catalyst.
For example, the social app SynClub, where AI and real users coexist, leverages AI characters to proactively initiate topics, enlivening the community atmosphere and boosting user dwell time.
At the same time, AI smart-reply features analyze both users’ profiles, interests, and social personas in real time, generating personalized ice-breaker prompts. This greatly reduces friction and minimizes negative experiences that might cause users to exit.
When AI is used to solve users’ most fundamental pain points and sits at the core of the experience, it becomes the strongest engine for activation and long-term stickiness.
These are the exact application scenarios and capabilities that RC AI Agent is designed to power.
RC provides world-leading communication cloud services combined with scenario-based AI Agent capabilities—such as AI companions, AI avatars, and AI chat assistants. Customers don’t need to worry about infrastructure or complex engineering, allowing rapid deployment of intelligent interaction features and significantly shortening time to value.
We'd love to discuss how RC's real-time communication solutions can support your business. Request a demo, explore pricing, or get tailored onboarding guidance.
