Overview

Aragon.AI is an AI-powered platform that transforms selfies and photos into studio-quality headshots. I worked with the company founder to improve user trust in the product and brand.

Role

UX Designer

Team

Company founder

Nov 2025 - Jan 2026

Timeframe

Users demonstrate high intent by curating and uploading photos, but many abandoned the paywall because they lack confidence in the AI-generated results, leading to low onboarding conversion.

The Problem

5%

Users that start onboarding and become paying customers

To understand where trust was breaking down in the onboarding flow, I observed users completing the experience and mapped the journey from landing page to paywall. These were the key insights are gathered:

Diagnosing the Trust Gap

Social proof overload created skepticism

1

The homepage contained a large quantity of Google reviews and testimonials. Instead of increasing credibility, users felt that the company was over-compensating for an inferior product

Aggressive promotions undermined credibility

Multiple discount popovers and banners made the experience feel overly promotional and less credible to users.

2

Users felt deceived by surprise paywall

3

Users were asked to pay before seeing the AI-generated results, making the onboarding flow feel deceptive and difficult to evaluate whether the product was worth paying for.

Key Takeaway

Low confidence in the product and a surprise paywall caused users to immediately abandon the flow at the payment step.

The paywall appeared mid-onboarding which conflicted with user expectations. I explored 4 different directions to address this.

Exploring Strategic Directions

Option 1

Improves expectation-setting at surface level

Key Constraint:

Generating AI previews incurs GPU costs, so I explored approaches that satisfied user needs without inducing unnecessary costs.

Set Expectations Upfront: Progress Stepper

Lowest engineering and cost risk

Does not address desire to see results before paying

Users may see Step 3 and immediately exit

Option 2

Likely highest conversion if cost was ignored

User-First Ideal: Show All Results Before Payment

Strong differentiation from free competitors

Risk of user taking screenshots

Very high GPU cost for non-converting users

Option 3

Simple and fast to implement

Business-First Extreme: Place Paywall at the Beginning

Covers GPU costs before any images are generated

Users can’t see what they’re paying for

Will likely lower sign up and conversion rates

Option 4

Allows user to evaluate quality before paying

Balancing Both Sides: Showing Small Quantity of Samples

Significantly lowers GPU cost than full generation

Risk that preview images are not the highest quality that Aragon.AI can offer

Still incurs some upfront GPU costs

We chose the smallest possible preview that restored user confidence without incurring unsustainable GPU cost.

Selected Strategy: Option 4

I worked to shape the experience so the homepage reduced distraction, and the onboarding flow helped users feel confident moving toward value.

Designing the Experience

Reduce User Testimony

Minimize the content that was previously eroding user trust and dedicate a separate page for testimony.

Delay and Reduction of Popovers

Provide user with enough time to explore the homepage before displaying popover.

Show users what they are going to get so that they have more confidence when they arrive at the paywall.

Integrate Preview Page into Onboarding Flow

Improve Integration of Paywall

Paywall feels less like an ambush and less pushy and more like a logical step in flow

Before

After