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Speechify AI Audiobooks

Voice AI Meets Audiobooks: Streamlining access for 5,000+ users

Overview

Imagine being unable to read your favorite books due to visual impairments or a hectic schedule. Speechify tackled this challenge by creating an affordable, accessible audiobook platform that works for everyone.

In a market dominated by Audible, we leveraged our voice AI expertise to build a platform tailored for users with visual impairments and busy lifestyles—without the overhead of a massive content library. The result? A unique, immersive experience that sets us apart.

My role

As the sole designer, I owned end-to-end UX/UI design, user testing, partnering with a PM and engineers to:

Launch the MVP in 3 months.
Integrate Kindle libraries for instant user value.
Design a WCAG 2.1-compliant interface.

Business goals

Goal

Design solutions

Results

Expand market reach

Kindle library integration + dark mode UI

5,000+ downloads

Goals

Monetize users

Build brand authority

Monetize users

Credit chip + subscription-focused flows

15% trial conversion

Design solutions

Kindle library integration + dark mode UI

Immersive listening + personalized discovery

Build brand authority

Immersive listening + personalized discovery

10% retention increase

Results

5,000+ downloads

15% trial conversion

From Zero to 5,000 Downloads: The Kindle Integration

From Zero to 5,000 Downloads:
The Kindle Integration

Problem: Building a content library from scratch was cost-prohibitive.

Solution:

Designed a seamless Kindle library import flow alongside public domain books, letting users convert existing eBooks to audiobooks instantly.

Impact:

Immediate value for users: Enabled users to convert their existing Kindle libraries into audiobooks, that gave instant access without requiring Speechify to build a massive content library from scratch.
Business impact: Reduced content acquisition costs compared to licensing books directly.

Fg 1 : Streamlined 3-step Kindle integration process with auto-sync

An initial challenge revolved around the public domain books we provided to users. Some of these books featured low-quality covers, while others had no covers at all. This issue significantly hindered users' ability to discover, identify, or engage with the available books.

I created custom covers for the public covers for uniformity. The custom covers created a visually appealing library that led to longer app sessions and increased user engagement.

Fg 1.1 : Public book covers

Fg 1.2 : Redesigned book covers for uniformity

Fg 1.3: Library with updated and uniform book covers

Navigation overhaul

Problem: Difficult to reach top navigation limited user exploration
Solution:

Replaced top bar with bottom navigation, aligning with iOS/Android patterns.
Launched dark mode to enhance book cover visibility.

Impact:

10% more daily active users post-launch

Fg 2 : Before: Hard-to-access top bar. After: Intuitive bottom navigation

From being a part of the Speechify Text-to-Speech app, the audiobooks feature eventually grew into it's own app with more room for more features and a more dedicated audiobooks experience. This new app was released as Speechify Books.

I designed the app icon to be visually distinctive, simple, meaningful and uncluttered

Fg 1.4: (a) App icon explorations, (b) Speechify books icon

Fg 1.4: App icon explorations

Dark mode

The darker background allowed the vibrant colors and intricate details of the book covers to stand out more prominently, creating a visually striking experience.

Fg 3 : Dark mode for better usability.

Immersive listening experience

Problem:
The next phase in the audiobooks evolution introduced an expanded the catalog to include audiobooks from all five major publishing houses. With this growth came a new problem, and the product needed a unique differentiator in a competitive market dominated by players like Audible.

How might we distinguish our product from competitors like Audible and highlights the unique book add-ons?

Solution:

Adapted Speechify’s TTS technology to create a dual-mode player that synchronized audiobook audio allowing users to read and listen simultaneously.
Clear icons on book covers and in the library help signify add-ons and allow users to quickly identify enhanced content

Outcome:

Users spent 25% longer in the app with the immersive listening feature.
Successfully integrated Speechify’s TTS capabilities into the audiobook product, creating a unique value proposition in the market.

Problem:
Speechify’s audiobook product needed a unique differentiator in a competitive market dominated by players like Audible.

Solution:

Adapted Speechify’s TTS technology to create a dual-mode player that synchronized audiobook audio allowing users to read and listen simultaneously.

Outcome:

Users spent 35% longer in the app with the immersive listening feature.
Successfully integrated Speechify’s TTS capabilities into the audiobook product, creating a unique value proposition in the market.

Fg 4 : Read and listen simultaneously with synchronized text and audio highlights

Fg 4.1 : Before and after of the audiobook library, that included with clear icons on book covers to help identify enhanced content.

Personalizing the book discovery experience

Problem:
Users struggled to find relevant audiobooks in Speechify’s growing library, leading to low engagement and retention.

Solution:

Conducted user research to identify pain points in the discovery process.
Designed and tested personalized book discovery features, that included improving public domain book covers, tailored recommendations based on user preferences and reading history.

Outcome:

Enhanced user engagement: Personalized recommendations led to a 10% increase in 30-day retention.
Improved satisfaction: Users reported finding books they loved faster, boosting overall satisfaction with the platform.

Fg 5 : Personalized recommendations to help users find books they love faster.

Scaling trust with transparent monetization

Problem: Users were confused about their credit balances and subscription details, leading to frustration and potential churn.

Solution:

I introduced a credit status chip for real-time balance tracking.
Created an expandable modal with detailed subscription information.

Impact:

Clear communication of the subscription model reduced user inquiries and improved trust.
10% fewer support tickets about billing

Problem:Users were confused about their credit balances and subscription details, leading to frustration and potential churn.

Solution:

Introduced a credit status chip for real-time balance tracking.
Created an expandable modal with detailed subscription information.

Impact:

Clear communication of the subscription model reduced user inquiries and improved trust.
10% fewer support tickets about billing

Fg 6:: Credit status chip: Real-time balance updates + detailed subscription info for transparency

Fg 6 : Credit status chip: Real-time balance updates + detailed subscription info for transparency

Accommodating Audio-Only content

Problem:
The integration of audio-only audiobooks from publishing partners introduced a new content format that the app wasn’t originally designed to handle. This created a gap in the user experience, as the app lacked features tailored for audio-only content.

Solution:

Redesigned the listening experience to accommodate audio-only content without disrupting the existing TTS functionality.
Added features like chapter navigation, and bookmarking specifically for audio-only audiobooks.