Why we brought AI career guidance to Telegram instead of building another mobile app

"When building career guidance for 25M+ high school students and parents across India, we asked ourselves: 'Do students really want to download another 50MB app just to ask what to do after 12th?'

In Tier-2/3 cities, storage is tight, internet data is precious, and mandatory phone number signups trigger fears of telemarketing calls.

That’s why we built ARIA natively inside Telegram. You don't need to install anything, you don't need to sign up, and it speaks 13 Indian languages (including Hinglish and Tanglish).

Curious to hear from other makers: When building consumer AI tools for emerging markets, have you chosen lightweight messaging platforms (Telegram/WhatsApp) over standalone apps? What was your experience?"