We stopped calling Murror an "AI app." Downloads tripled.
For the first year, we marketed Murror as an "AI-powered emotional companion." It was technically accurate. It was also the worst positioning decision we made.
Here's what happened: people who downloaded expecting an AI chatbot were confused. Murror doesn't chat with you -- it helps you journal, reflect, and understand patterns in your relationships. They'd open the app, look for the chat bubble, and leave within 30 seconds.
Meanwhile, the people who would have genuinely benefited -- those wanting to understand their emotions better or connect deeper with their partner -- scrolled right past us. "AI companion" sounded like another chatbot. They didn't want to talk to a bot. They wanted to understand themselves.
So we ran an experiment. We stripped "AI" from our App Store listing, our landing page, everywhere. We repositioned to: "Understand your emotions. Connect deeper with the people who matter."
Same product. Same features. Zero mention of AI on the surface.
Downloads tripled in the first month. But more importantly, the right people started showing up. Session length doubled. 7-day retention jumped from 23% to 41%. People were actually using the product the way it was designed to be used.
The AI is still there, obviously -- it powers everything behind the scenes. But users don't need to know that. They just need to feel understood.
The lesson we keep relearning: people don't want AI. They want the outcome AI enables. The moment you lead with the technology instead of the transformation, you attract curiosity instead of commitment.
Anyone else found that de-emphasizing "AI" in positioning actually improved their product metrics?
Replies
WebCurate.co
I think that's a smart move.
Most users don't really care what technology is behind the product. They care about what it helps them achieve. Leading with the outcome instead of "AI-powered" usually makes the value much clearer.
Murror
@hosseinyazdi Exactly. "What does it help me do?" will always resonate more than "what technology is it built on?" We learned this the hard way, but the data was pretty clear once we made the switch. Thanks for the support!
yeah, we saw a version of this too. "AI-powered" in the headline pulled in a lot of tire-kickers who just wanted to poke at a chatbot, then bounced when it didn't behave like one. once we led with the actual outcome and buried the AI part in the how-it-works section, the people who converted stuck around way longer. I think the AI label sets an expectation of a certain interaction pattern (chat, prompt, response) and if your product doesn't work that way you're fighting the label the whole time instead of it helping you.
Murror
@galdayan That's such a good point about the AI label setting an expectation of a specific interaction pattern. We saw the exact same thing -- people expected a chat interface and were confused when Murror asked them to journal instead. Burying the AI in the how-it-works section is a great move. The technology should be invisible when the product experience doesn't match what "AI" implies to most users.
@monatruong_murror exactly, and the 41% retention jump is the proof - people weren't confused about what the product does once the label stopped setting the wrong expectation upfront
Murror
@galdayan Totally. The retention number was the real validation for us. When people stick around, it means their expectations matched what they actually got. Removing the "AI" label basically fixed the expectation gap before users even opened the app. Appreciate you sharing your experience -- it's reassuring to know others have seen the same pattern.
@monatruong_murror glad it landed. it's a good case study for anyone still leading with "AI-powered" in their positioning by default instead of testing whether the label actually helps or hurts for their specific product
Interesting, and I completely agree! It really makes me wonder about the ethical side of things, though. I'm curious, do you mention anywhere on the site like in an "About Us" or "How It Works" section that AI is powering the experience?"
Murror
@yudhish_khatri Great question! Yes, we're fully transparent about it. Our privacy policy and How It Works section explain that AI powers the journaling prompts and emotional pattern analysis. We're not hiding AI -- we just stopped leading with it in marketing. There's a difference between being transparent about your tech stack and using "AI" as a positioning hook. We want users to find us because they care about understanding their emotions, then discover the AI is what makes the experience so personalized.
@monatruong_murror Sorry if things came out wrong, making you think I thought you were misleading your customers. I was just curious myself. Currently, I am in the final process of releasing a product that is AI based as well and considering all of this while researching in depth
Murror
@yudhish_khatri No worries at all -- it was a totally valid question! And that's exciting that you're about to launch. If it helps: think about what transformation your product creates for users, and lead with that. The AI can be the "how" in your product story rather than the "what." Happy to share more about what worked for us if you ever want to chat. Good luck with your launch!
@monatruong_murror Thank you for the offer and I would love to take you up on that. Would love to hear about your experience and what worked!
This confirms something a mentor kept telling us: people don't care about the tools or the time behind a product, only whether it solves their problem. Good to see the numbers back it up.
Murror
@alieksia Your mentor nailed it. The numbers really validated that for us too. Once we led with the problem we solve instead of the tech behind it, the right people started finding us. Thanks for sharing that perspective.
This makes a lot of sense. “AI” gets people curious, but the actual outcome is what makes them stay.
For something emotional or personal, leading with the benefit feels way stronger than leading with the tech.
Murror
@evan_kang1 Exactly. "Leading with the benefit" is the simplest way to put it. For emotional products especially, the tech can actually create distance -- people want to feel understood, not analyzed. Appreciate you framing it that way.