Work

About

Contact

Work

About

Contact

Work

About

Contact

CASE STUDY

Redesigning Teal’s AI Resume Writing Tools Into a Growth Funnel

Redesigning Teal’s AI Resume Writing Tools Into a Growth Funnel

Transformed a high-potential tool into a clear, value-driven experience that increased feature engagement and led to a 13% paid conversion rate from activated users.

Transformed a high-potential tool into a clear, value-driven experience that increased feature engagement and led to a 13% paid conversion rate from activated users.

3 min read

TL;DR

I redesigned Teal’s AI resume writing tools to increase engagement and upgrade conversion. Users were clicking “Write with AI” but weren’t seeing the full potential of the product. By clarifying value, adjusting the hierarchy of advanced features, and validating decisions through A/B testing, we drove stronger engagement with AI and a 13% upgrade rate among those who used all free credits.

I redesigned Teal’s AI resume writing tools to increase engagement and upgrade conversion. Users were clicking “Write with AI” but weren’t seeing the full potential of the product. By clarifying value, adjusting the hierarchy of advanced features, and validating decisions through A/B testing, we drove stronger engagement with AI and a 13% upgrade rate among those who used all free credits.

KEY METRICS

28%

of users exhausted all free AI credits

13%

of those users upgraded to Teal+

Status

Shipped

Role

Lead Product Designer (solo)

Year

Q3 2024

Product

Teal (B2C Career Platform)

Audience

Job Seekers across the U.S.

Skills

UX Design
Growth Strategy
User Research
A/B Testing
Prototyping

The final design

The Challenge

Users were engaging with Teal’s AI resume tools, but few were upgrading. Data showed that while the entry point worked, users didn’t fully grasp the quality or depth of what Teal’s AI could do. Many powerful features, like keywords and custom prompts, were overlooked because they were subtly placed.

We hypothesized that better surfacing those tools would increase perceived value and drive more upgrades.

Users were engaging with Teal’s AI resume tools, but few were upgrading. Data showed that while the entry point worked, users didn’t fully grasp the quality or depth of what Teal’s AI could do. Many powerful features, like keywords and custom prompts, were overlooked because they were subtly placed.

We hypothesized that better surfacing those tools would increase perceived value and drive more upgrades.

Users initiated the AI experience by clicking “Write with AI”.

The old experience hid advanced AI features under a “Customize with AI“ button.

Free vs. Paid Experience

Teal’s AI tools offer five free uses per user. After that, users must upgrade to Teal+ for unlimited access and enhanced AI controls.

The goal was to encourage early engagement, communicate value clearly during usage, and build motivation to upgrade when the credits ran out.

Teal’s AI tools offer five free uses per user. After that, users must upgrade to Teal+ for unlimited access and enhanced AI controls.

The goal was to encourage early engagement, communicate value clearly during usage, and build motivation to upgrade when the credits ran out.

Initial Solution: Elevating the Value of AI

The first redesign aimed to fully showcase Teal’s AI capabilities.

Exposed Advanced AI Tools
I surfaced the advanced AI tools, believing that showing everything up front would help users recognize the full value and take an AI action quickly.

Persistent Credit Tracker
AI credit counter had been redesigned to draw more attention to the AI actions.

The first redesign aimed to fully showcase Teal’s AI capabilities.

Exposed Advanced AI Tools
I surfaced the advanced AI tools, believing that showing everything up front would help users recognize the full value and take an AI action quickly.

Persistent Credit Tracker
AI credit counter had been redesigned to draw more attention to the AI actions.

Advanced AI tools where immediately accessible.

We hypothesized that giving user quicker access to the tools would increase the amount of user exhausting their credits.

A/B Testing & What We Learned

To validate the redesign, we ran an A/B test:

Old: The original experience, with most advanced features subtly tucked away



New: My redesigned version with prominent tools and full UI exposure

Despite better visibility, the new version underperformed. Users clicked the AI buttons less, and the experience felt less approachable, especially for first-time users. This led to one of the project’s biggest takeaways:

Start simple, scale smart



Lead with one clear action. As confidence grows, gradually introduce advanced functionality. This became the design principle for all future refinements

To validate the redesign, we ran an A/B test:

Old: The original experience, with most advanced features subtly tucked away



New: My redesigned version with prominent tools and full UI exposure

Despite better visibility, the new version underperformed. Users clicked the AI buttons less, and the experience felt less approachable, especially for first-time users. This led to one of the project’s biggest takeaways:

Start simple, scale smart



Lead with one clear action. As confidence grows, gradually introduce advanced functionality. This became the design principle for all future refinements

Post-Test Refinement:

Designing for Confidence and Conversion

Using insights from the test, I iterated the experience further:

Simplified First Interaction

We doubled down on “Write with AI” as the main CTA. Its clarity, familiarity, and performance made it the anchor of the interface. The credit tracker remained but was redesigned to sit cleanly within the button.

Progressive Tool Reveals

Features like keywords and custom prompts were hidden behind tabs, which brought visibility, but didn’t force them upon the user. This allowed us to reduce overwhelm while still surfacing depth.

Final Designs

One of the core assumptions was that feature visibility equals perceived value. But the A/B test proved otherwise. Overexposing the interface created friction, not momentum. In response, I:




  • Re-centered the experience around simplicity

  • Hid complexity behind optional, progressive interactions

  • Worked with engineering to focus on creating a strong first impression with high-quality AI output

Flows for user who want the AI to coach them through writing a resume bullet.

Flows for user who want the AI to coach them through writing a resume bullet.

Flow for users who want to use custom prompts when writing their resume bullets.

Flow for users who want to use custom prompts when writing their resume bullets.

Collaboration & Execution

I worked closely with our PM and CEO to define the product funnel and success metrics. Engineers and I partnered weekly to implement interaction logic and measure impact.

  • Created annotated Figma designs with edge case handling

  • Delivered async Loom walkthroughs

  • Monitored tests and user behavior in Amplitude

Measuring & Validation

I used a mixed-methods approach:

  • A/B testing to measure conversion outcomes

  • Session replays to observe real usage

  • User feedback and support tickets to identify edge case confusion

The improved flow resulted in:

  • 28% of users using all 5 free credits

  • 13% of those upgrading to Teal+

The final design

Reflections &

What’s Next

This project reminded me that clarity and timing are just as important as feature power, especially in AI tooling. Leading with everything can backfire. Leading with value builds trust.

What’s next:

  • Introduce tone and voice presets

  • Add an AI chat interface so people can be more specific with what they want on their resume
    Bring advanced AI writing features to the cover letter mode

This project reminded me that clarity and timing are just as important as feature power, especially in AI tooling. Leading with everything can backfire. Leading with value builds trust.

What’s next:

  • Introduce tone and voice presets

  • Add an AI chat interface so people can be more specific with what they want on their resume
    Bring advanced AI writing features to the cover letter mode

Explore more of my work

Turning Training Data Into Actionable Insights

Turning Training Data Into Actionable Insights

Turning Training Data Into Actionable Insights

Unifying Content Into a High-Value Training Hub

Unifying Content Into a High-Value Training Hub

Unifying Content Into a High-Value Training Hub

Let’s create software together.

Let’s create software together.

mattsburt@gmail.com

linkedin/in/mattsburt