A customer onboarding agent that helps people finish setup
New users tend to stall on the same few steps: connecting their data, inviting a teammate, setting up the first project. Showalong gives them a guide they can ask, inside your app, that points at the right control and does the step with them.
What it looks like for a new user
An example from a sample app. The user is signed in to their own new account. The small grey line under each reply is what the guide does on screen.
- UserHow do I get my team in here?
- GuideFrom Settings, then Members. I’ll open it for you.Opens Settings, then circles Members.
- GuideType their email here, or tell me and I’ll type it.Points at the email field.
- UserSam at example dot com, as an editor.
- GuideI’ve added Sam as an editor. Sending the invite emails Sam, so I’ll check first. Send it?Fills the field, sets the role, circles Send invite and waits.
- UserYes.
- GuideSent. Next on your setup list is connecting a data source. Want to do that now?
How it differs from a product tour
| Question | Step-by-step tour | Showalong guide |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides what comes next | The tour’s fixed order | The user’s question |
| When the user is stuck halfway | Restart or skip the tour | Ask about that exact step |
| Doing the step | The user clicks, following tooltips | The user clicks, or asks the guide to do it |
| Changes in their account | Made by the user | Made by the user, or by the guide after a yes |
| Without sound | Works as is | Captions and typing |
It’s their real account, so it asks first
Onboarding happens in the user’s own data. Before the guide saves, sends, connects or deletes anything, it says what it is about to do and waits for a yes.
You choose which pages and controls it may use. Billing pages, admin settings and anything else you leave off the list stay out of its reach. How the limits work
Where to put the button
People ask for help at the moment they get stuck. Put the guide there.
Empty states
“No projects yet” is the best place to offer: want me to set up the first one with you?
Your setup checklist
Next to each step, so a user can ask about the one in front of them.
Settings pages people avoid
Integrations, permissions, imports: the pages that generate support tickets.
Does it help activation?
We don’t know yet, and we won’t guess. We will publish onboarding results once customers agree to share their data, with the definition of “activated”, the sample size and the cases where it didn’t help.