How Top AI Tools Onboard New Users in 2025
UX analysis and insights for 10 AI tools like Elevenlabs, Gamma, Perplexity, Lovable, and more.
Hello everyone 👋 I’m Kate Syuma, and welcome to Growthmates.news — the newsletter where we explore growth stories to inspire your professional and personal growth. Join the community of 6,500+ Product, Design, and Growth people from companies like Amplitude, Intercom, Miro, Atlassian, Grammarly, Framer, and more.
Today I have a special thing for you — a new industry research that we worked on for months with the UserGuiding team: How Top AI Tools Onboard New Users in 2025. What you can find inside the full report:
20+ pages of insights on AI products onboarding;
140+ Screenshots and GIFs that display the experience from the website to the end of the first session;
100+ Expert insights and comments from me on each pattern we’ve analyzed;
A color-coded system to follow, which pattern corresponds to which key flow step.
Ready to dive deeper? Unlock the full report to explore all the insights, detailed visuals, and expert commentary that can help you elevate your product’s onboarding experience.
Get full access to the report here 👇
🎯 Who is this report useful for?
Product managers working on AI tools or SaaS products;
Product designers focused on creating intuitive AI experiences;
Product marketing managers aiming to position AI tools effectively;
CEOs and Founders of AI-driven or tech companies;
Product and Growth teams building user adoption strategies for AI products in both B2B and B2C markets.
🎯How you can use it:
Share with your product or growth team to assess and improve your AI tool’s onboarding journey;
Apply insights to reduce friction and surface value earlier in your AI product experience;
Get inspired by onboarding best practices from leading AI tools in 2025;
Use it as a benchmark to measure and refine your own onboarding and activation success.
In this edition, we will dive into the TOP-5 insights that can help you look at your product's onboarding. Get ready to dive in👇
Insight 1: 60% of AI Tools rely on User-generated Content.
💡 6/10 tools feature user-generated content or social proof on their websites to build trust before signup.
Before users even create an account, leading AI tools work to establish trust. In 6 out of 10 products we analyzed, websites included user-generated content (UGC) or social proof — testimonials, use cases, community examples, or customer logos — all designed to reduce hesitation and build early credibility.
This approach is especially powerful in the AI space, where users may still feel skeptical or unsure of what to expect.
My takeaway: If your homepage doesn’t reflect how real users succeed with your product, you’re missing a key activation opportunity. Users who found out a rleevant use case and started from it have x2-3 higher activation rates.
UGC isn’t just a growth lever — it’s part of the onboarding experience. AI tools have to build that trust and credibility before signup ever begins — we don’t want to rely on generic solutions before we see how real humans have used them.
✅ Example: Lovable Community.
On Lovable website, and later inside the dashboard, new users step into a space where they can browse real products created by others in the community. Each creation comes with a visual preview and simple tags that make it easy to explore different product types. It feels less like you’re joining a tool, and more like you’re joining a movement. This sense of belonging is no accident — Lovable taps into the power of community-led growth by putting user-generated content at the heart of the experience.
Just this past weekend, their community contest went viral (thanks to
😅), a perfect reminder of how amplifying user voices can spark momentum and build trust in ways no traditional marketing ever could.
Insight 2: Pricing is shown often during Sign Up.
💡 4/10 tools show pricing during signup and ask smart profiling questions to personalize the experience.
In 4 out of 10 AI tools, pricing plans are presented during or immediately after sign-up. This reflects a shift in trust: these products acknowledge that some users are ready to evaluate or buy without needing to be “convinced” first. Instead of hiding pricing behind a free trial wall, they bring it into the onboarding conversation.
At the same time, onboarding surveys ask smart, lightweight questions — most commonly about the user’s use case, role, or purpose (e.g., “What do you want to use this AI for?”). This approach humanizes the product while quietly tailoring the first-session experience.
My takeaway: Don’t assume your users need full adoptipon before they see a price for the first time. By featuring pricing and plans within signup, AI tools recognize that some users are ready to make a decision, especially after displaying desired outcomes earlier.
Smart signup flows combine personalization and transparency, helping AI tools convert curious visitors into confident users.
✅ Example: Claude Sign Up flow.
Claude welcomes new users in a way that feels personal right from the start. The first interaction is a simple age check — nothing intrusive, just a quick confirmation that sets the tone. From there, Claude asks whether you’re signing up for yourself or for a team. It’s a small question, but a smart one. It helps tailor the experience, while quietly surfacing which users might be a fit for team plans or B2B features later on.
Like many AI tools, Claude introduces pricing early in the onboarding flow. But it doesn’t feel pushy. Instead, it builds on the excitement users already feel, showing the value of upgrading before they hit any limits. What if some users are ready to commit to the Pro or Max Plan already, looking at the powerful feature set?
What’s striking is how personal it feels—like Claude is talking to me, asking about my needs, and guiding me with just the right options. It also feels like it has a personality, really building initial trust in this first interaction.
Enjoying it so far? Find 140+ Screenshots and GIFs that display the experience from the website to the end of the first session in the Free report here →
Insight 3: Jumping right into the AI core value.
💡 6/10 tools avoid traditional guides and checklists — showing the prompt immediately to shorten time to value.
In 6 out of 10 tools, the first in-product experience skips traditional onboarding — no checklists, no tooltips, no modals. Instead, users are dropped straight into a prompt field or core interaction. It’s an intentional choice: AI products trust their users to explore, especially in dev-facing tools.
My takeaway: AI tools, especially those used by developers, rightfully assume that their users are highly tech-savvy. And so, any extra popups, guides, or patterns that do not add to a smooth experience become an obstacle.
These experiences rely on embedded cues like empty states, default examples, and familiar interaction patterns to guide the user — without interrupting them.
✅ Example: Perplexity First Prompt.
Perplexity skips the usual website experience and brings you straight into the heart of the product. There’s no marketing fluff —no tooltips, no guides — just a prompt field on a clean interface.
💡 4/10 products give AI prompt interaction on the website to drive Activation faster.
Like many generative AI tools, Perplexity features example prompts that help you get started without overthinking what to type. The signup flow is equally simple. A lightweight popup appears as you interact, doubling as both an invitation and the signup page. It feels seamless — as if Perplexity is saying, “No pressure, just jump in when you’re ready.”
We already talked about this kind of “loginless experience” in the 6 steps of Holistic Onboarding — check it out to see more examples.
Insight 4: 20% don’t send any Onboarding emails.
💡 8/10 products rely on email for “out of product“education — resources for quick wins, success stories, and more.
In many AI tools, onboarding happens outside the product. With traditional tours or tooltips often removed, email becomes a critical channel for education, re-engagement, and early activation.
But not everyone uses it well. In our review, two tools sent no onboarding emails at all. One sent marketing-only content. Only a handful delivered resources designed to guide the user to their first success.
My takeaway: In AI onboarding, don’t overlook email. It’s your quietest but most powerful second chance. With traditional onboarding often omitted in AI tools, there is an effort to make up for this lack of educational content via onboarding emails. The sentiment that value isn’t always found inside the product is unchanged.
If your product skips in-app onboarding, your emails must pick up the slack — with timing, relevance, and quick wins.
✅ Example: Teal Onboarding Emails.
Teal emails are short, simple, and always focus on using more of the product. While showing just one relevant CTA per email, you can increase the click rate and early retention to the product.
Studies show that triggered emails, sent after signup or trial starts, achieve a 35.64% open rate and a 5.31% click-through rate, significantly outperforming standard campaign emails.
Insight 5: Favorite AI Spotlight ⭐️ — ElevenLabs.
After looking at 10 products, we’ve seen some of them do an outstanding job by combining several best practices.
⭐️ Spotlight: ElevenLabs First experience.
ElevenLabs stands out as a favorite in this report — a product that gets onboarding right without overcomplicating things. The signup flow is short and focused, with a progress bar that makes it clear where you are and what’s next. What’s smart is how it connects you directly to your chosen use case, setting up that first aha-moment almost effortlessly.
Once inside, the home tab greets you with thoughtful touches — a time-sensitive welcome, clear CTAs, easy-start templates, even a dark mode toggle. There’s no heavy-handed tutorial; instead, well-placed CTAs and training videos surface where you need them, turning empty states into helpful starting points.
My Takeaway: AI tools still need to use templates and ready-to-use elements to take away users from the potential cognitive load of starting with a new product, and lean on the power of defaults principle — giving users shortcuts to what exactly is needed on the first session.
👉 Get the full board and report with more insights
Dive deeper into our comprehensive Full UX Onboarding Analysis featuring 10 cutting-edge AI products — from generative AI and content creation tools to transcription and AI app builders, including Elevenlabs, Gamma, Perplexity, HeyGen, Otter.ai, Teal, Claude, tl;dv, Replit, and Lovable.
Here’s what you’ll find in the full report:
140+ Screenshots and GIFs on a Miro board capturing the complete onboarding journey, from the first website visit to the end of the initial user session.
100+ Expert insights and detailed comments, breaking down patterns and UX decisions behind each product.
A color-coded system that links onboarding patterns to key user experience components, making it easy to navigate and compare.
Explore how early-stage AI products are redefining onboarding — transforming it from a separate step into a natural part of the product experience.
This is all for today, dear readers 💜 If you found this helpful, share it with a teammate, a founder, or a curious builder. My mission is to help you build and grow meaningful products that delight your users. Here are some ways I can be useful 👇
1. User-centric Growth Course 🎁 Next cohort with 20% off before Sunday.
My course just got selected for the Maven 100! It’s officially a part of the top 100 cohort-based courses on Maven, alongside some of the best educators on the platform. And honestly… this one feels special.
When I first created this course, it came from a deeper mission:
✨ To make learning about PLG feel more accessible
🤝 To bring people together around shared curiosity and care about both User and Business
What makes this course different?
You can work on your real Growth challenge
You get lifetime access to 30+ B2B & B2C product flows for Onboarding, Adoption, and Upgrade experience from top products
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My June cohort has sold, so I opened a new one in August. If you’ve been curious, now’s a great time to join with 20% off until Sunday →.
2. Join me on the Product Onboarding Summit on June 24th 🙌
Excited to share my 6 Steps of Holistic User Onboarding at the Product Onboarding Summit on June 24th! 🔥
After researching 80+ B2B SaaS products, I mapped a framework that helps teams go beyond checklists and create onboarding that actually drives outcomes.
On June 24, I’ll break it down:
→ Why traditional onboarding fails
→ What holistic onboarding looks like
→ How to design flows that guide users to real value
Join me and a fantastic group with
, , Wes Bush here: onboardingsummit.co 👉3. Onboarding & Activation Design Sprint 🏃♀️
After supporting 15+ companies last year with Onboarding and activation challenges, I collected all the knowledge I gained on this topic to apply it directly to your product. My mission is to help you build meaningful products users love — and stay for. I will work closely with your team for two weeks to help you fix your Onboarding and improve the first user experience, which can drive x2 uplift on your Activation.
If you find this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend, and consider subscribing if you haven’t already done so. There are some discounts available, and maybe you can expense this :)
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With best regards,
Kate Syuma
Thanks a lot for the effort you put in + your valuable insights, Kate.