Glossa

Redesigning the Onboarding / First Time User Experience for an AI startup

Platform: Desktop

Role:  UX Writer, Researcher, and UI Redesigner

Project Type: Data Analysis, Research, Redesign, Logo Animation

Industry: Implementation Consultancy, AI, Project Management, Data Migration

Tools: Figma, Posthog, Zoom, Claude, Final Cut X

View Prototype

Summary:
An onboarding experience, 3x improved

We designed a revised version of the onboarding flow for Glossa, is an AI-powered requirements generation tool for implementation consultants. Glossa was created by several ex-Salesforce employees and a small team of developers who saw the potential for AI in this market.

When discussing UX/UI needs with the cofounders, we thought perhaps a new look at the onboarding process was in order. Walking through the onboarding experience myself as a new user, I was left with a host of questions - what does this button mean? Why is this here? During our initial interviews with potential users, these concerns were validated as well. A straightforward onboarding experience sets the user up for success, effectively orienting them so they know exactly where to go and how to achieve the most out of a new tool.

Comparing November 2025 (pre-redesign) and January 2026 (post-redesign), our new onboarding experience saw an increase in project page views by 50% and full funnel completion by 3x.

50% increase

in project page views

3x increase

in full funnel completion

Glossa Desktop Browser

Background:

AI tools are a dime a dozen these days, but Glossa differentiates itself as a tool for implementation consultants to easily generate requirements from zoom meetings, documents, emails, videos, and more. Glossa centralizes all of this information, allowing both the client and the consultant to upload and access project data. It can track task progress, reduce redundancy and manual data entry, and crucially - integrate with Google, Outlook, Onedrive, Zoom, and Teams. Pretty nifty!

The Problem:
Only 11% of users completed the full project creation flow

(2 out of 18 users within the 1-month period leading up to our UX research.)

Glossa’s onboarding / first time user experience needed work. Glossa wanted to more new users create their first project. Its users want to quickly and confidently use their service, and Glossa knew there were UI issues slowing down that journey.

Comparative Analysis:
Exploring the best of the best in onboarding

Every digital tool must onboard its users, and how it does so shapes the overall experience. Strong onboarding builds trust, increases the user's confidence in understanding what to do next, and directly impacts long-term adoption and retention.

We looked at 7 additional products - mostly in the project management space - to find common and sensible onboarding patterns and explore the differences between them. We completed the onboarding experience for each tool, analyzing every aspect of the experience along the way.

Making a good first impression is crucial.
But what separates a good onboarding experience from a great one?

Read the Full Report

User Interviews:
Requesting Guidance and Clarity

A few quotes that jumped out at us:

“Whenever there’s a UI issue, I ask myself: 'what does that imply about a deeper issue down below?'”

“Tons of other software platforms have ‘example records.’ You can’t delete it, but it contains some example pieces of data.” Maybe there’s room for having a template [showing] ‘this is what great looks like’ when you use the system.”

“I think this page is confusing. I also think that the terminology… could be simplified.”

Click the image to view the full affinity map

Key Takeaways:

Source/Target confusion validated a key usability issue

Three out of four users were confused by this screen, and all encountered a bug requiring repeated data entry—indicating both UX and technical fixes are needed (including potentially splitting it into two clearer steps).

Users need clearer guidance and data privacy guarantees

More contextual onboarding copy is needed to explain the purpose of each step, and security assurances must be made explicit to support organizational buy-in and prevent drop-off.

Targeted UI and onboarding improvements could significantly improve usability

Refining terminology, adding progress indicators and a back button, simplifying form fields, and introducing visible help materials (e.g., quickstart guide, template project, or onboarding video) would create a more intuitive experience.

Prioritization: Onboarding is the Answer

A streamlined, effective onboarding experience sits neatly at the intersection of Glossa's business goals and their user's goals.

Feature Roadmap:
Don't get carried way

Deciding an onboarding redesign also meant we need to narrow the scope of this project so we could achieve measurable results. That meant no Youtube tutorial, no AI chatbot support, no demo project. At least not yet.

Persona:
Meet James

James is tech savvy, trying out tools as he encounters them to see if they make his professional life easier.
How does Glossa compare to other tools he has tried?

Creative Constraints:
Words we repeated to ourselves constantly

As we worked toward the development of a simpler, cleaner, and more refined onboarding experience, we needed to make sure we would adhere to the following principles.

  1. We needed to work within Glossa’s existing design system

Use existing components, icons etc. whenever possible. Glossa’s brand was already established.

  1. No user scrolling

To simplify the user experience, the next/skip button always needed to be visible; adding height to the screen makes breezing through this screen a bit more challenging.


  1. Provide clear and concise copy

We want to make sure that text is kept to a minimum, headings are clear and concise, and that the user would never need to scroll up and down.

  1. Narrow the scope of the project

We needed to make sure we worked within the bounds of a specific project, upon which we could make a measurable improvement. That means we can't do everything.

Our user interviews revealed a wide array of possible paths to pursue with this project. These include a:

  • Tooltip Walkthrough

    Showcasing different areas on the screen, buttons and their functions as they relate to Glossa projects.

  • Demo Project

    Fully fleshed with a lot of data, showcasing the full breadth of possible avenues that a user could take with Glossa

  • Blank Slate Checklist

    Providing the user with a series of tasks they could complete helping them get to know the service.

  • Chat with AI/Help button

    The user could turn to this anytime they were stuck or confused about a particular screen.

While these are all excellent ideas, none of them could be prioritized before a well-designed onboarding flow. Doing so would be putting the cart before the horse.

Fig. 1 - Putting the Cart Before the Horse. It doesn't work.

Low Fidelity Prototyping pt. 1:
Animating the Glossa Logo

Take a look at this logo. What do you see? How might it move?

The Glossa team didn’t have a clear answer - so I followed my intuition.

Let’s get sketchy:

I imagined that the logo would animate from left to right, with columns flowing in and transforming from circles into squares with rounded corners as they landed in place.

Although Figma isn’t a dedicated animation tool, it handled this effectively. I started by vectorizing the logo, then adjusting the corner radius of each shape, moved them into position, and used delay transitions to create the motion.

And here is the finished product:

Moving Glossa Logo

This animated Glossa logo could be used across touchpoints—on video title cards, as a moving loading icon, and as the first thing users see when onboarding begins.

User Flow:
Three interconnected paths

This experience follows a mostly linear task flow with minimal deviation. I included screenshots of existing screens—though some may change significantly—to identify where new screens would be needed.

The flow is organized into three sections: Create Account, Onboarding, and Create Project.

In Create Account, we recommend streamlining SSO by automatically pulling the user’s name, email, and avatar to eliminate redundant profile setup screens and reduce friction.

For Onboarding and Create Project, we applied feedback from user interviews to clarify language, simplify complex steps, and ensure users understand what’s happening at every stage; especially since project creation is essential to getting the most out of Glossa.

From Low to High Fidelity:
New Components

The user flow outlines all essential screens—both redesigned and brand new ones. To avoid scrolling and reduce cognitive load, we used expandable/collapsible components wherever possible.

Several new components would need to be created, including:

  • A clear explanation of Glossa’s data security policies, placed at the moment users input their data to build trust. This was a chief concern during user interviews; Glossa creates requirements from user data, and the users needed to be sure that their data wouldn't be used to train AI models.

Low Fidelity Data Privacy Button

High Fidelity Data Privacy Button

  • An explanation of the specific ways Glossa interfaces with other apps, how the user sets them up and points Glossa only to the specific data they want to use for their projects.

  • This second component went through several iterations, and had us asking questions like:

Should the component have a hover state?

Where should the “Connect” Button go in relation to the app name?

How much text explaining the ways in which the app interfaces and pulls the user’s data is necessary?

The primary consideration was SIMPLICITY. Our research taught us to keep screens concise, giving users the option to expand for more detail only if needed.

Usability Testing:
Better than before, with room for improvement

Results:

Usability testing confirmed that the redesigned onboarding was an improvement, but 4 out of 4 users struggled with inconsistent terminology and wanted clearer guidance about what information was being requested and why. Three out of four users also strongly requested a pre-populated sample project to better understand how Glossa works in practice.

Read the Full Report

Iterations:
Ironing out the wrinkles

After

Revision Summary

We refined onboarding by simplifying terminology (e.g., “Project Categories,” “Team”), simplifying breadcrumbs, and standardizing UI design patterns for greater consistency and clarity.

We also reorganized the project creation flow to a client-first structure, and reframed technical language into user-friendly questions. We clarified user roles and permissions (e.g., “Member," Owner”), added reassuring “you can change this later” messaging, and introduced expandable explanations for connected apps to build trust around data handling.

Beyond core UX updates, we recommended a pre-populated demo project (requested by 3 of 4 users), a short onboarding video, integrated help support via Intercom, and guided tooltips to provide hands-on learning and reduce friction for first-time users.

Read the Full Summary of Final Iterations

Implementing and Validating the Revised Onboarding Experience

Using Posthog for data analytics, we were able to track each individual users’ full onboarding experience and test the effectiveness of the new onboarding flow. While the new onboarding flow has only been live for a short time, we are already noticing promising trends.

50% increase

in project page views

3x increase

in full funnel completion

Comparing November 2025 (pre-redesign) and January 2026 (post-redesign), our new onboarding experience saw an increase in project page views by 50% and full funnel completion (account + first project creation) by 3x.