All work

AI creatives

An AI-driven list growth system that selects the timing, placement, layout, and incentive for each sign-up unit, so clients grow their subscriber lists without manual setup.

Company
Attentive
Role
Lead product designer
Timeline
Jul 2023 – 2024
Focus
AI-driven list growth
AI creatives

Overview

Attentive helps brands grow SMS and email subscriber lists with personalized sign-up programs. Many clients weren’t getting full value from these programs because setup was manual and complex.

Problem

  • Manual setup was slow, error-prone, and didn’t scale for brands with complex needs.
  • Clients had difficulty applying best practices and were concerned about intrusive pop-ups.
  • Low adoption reduced engagement, conversions, revenue, and retention.
Problem
Manual setup made conflicting rules easy to create and hard to detect.

Opportunity

13%
of clients had landing page creatives positioned to drive significant growth
1,000+
clients weren’t using the highest-converting sign-up units
70%+
of clients didn’t have the most impactful display rules enabled

Goals

  • Use AI to optimize timing, placement, layouts, and audience-specific incentives.
  • Make the tools scalable and data-driven, so every brand can offer personalized sign-up experiences.
  • Reduce manual effort and make best practices the default.
Goals
AI-optimized rules, marked with a sparkle icon, appear alongside manual rules.

Approach

The system automates list growth and connects to the broader Attentive AI platform. It simplifies onboarding, supports both hands-on and automated management, and reduces manual input, which means fewer errors and more time for Customer Success Managers.

Solution
Previewing an AI creative for different audiences, with performance tracked over time

Process

I started with research into setup inefficiencies, low adoption of best practices, and concerns about intrusive pop-ups. The findings led to an AI-driven concept built on automation, usability, and flexibility. I created personas, user flows, and prototypes, tested them iteratively, and continued monitoring performance after launch.

Create sign-up flow dialog with template and from-scratch options
Starting a sign-up flow: choose a template or build from scratch

Iteration 1: shared display rules

Display rules could be shared across multiple sign-up units, which reduced duplicate setup. Client workflows became simpler, but the process still required significant internal involvement. This iteration focused on modularity and set up the foundation for further automation.

Shared display rules
One set of display rules, shared across several sign-up units

Iteration 2: dynamic adjustments

Clients could change the traffic split during a live A/B test, giving them real-time control. Test setup was still limited to CSMs, which showed the need for a fully self-serve A/B testing workflow.

A/B test traffic split
Changing the traffic split while an A/B test is running

Iteration 3: real-time control

Clients could turn AI-driven display rule optimization on and off. Those who wanted to set specific parameters still lacked that control, so the next step was balancing automation with configurable options.

AI optimization toggle
Turning on AI rules and reviewing the selected display rules

Results

+36%
list growth, from display rules aligned with best practices
+45%
welcome revenue, from streamlined offers and lower setup effort
~10%
higher click-through, from more relevant sign-up content

Business impact

Best-practice display rules increased list growth, a key driver of long-term engagement. Simpler offers and setup reduced operational effort and shortened time to value, and more relevant content improved campaign performance and client satisfaction.