u/BroccoliGreat4636

A lot of the conversations we are having about the current updates expresses a lot of the frustration and betrayal we feel. It is completely warranted, however I wanted to make an attempt to answer exactly why I believe this new direction is so frustrating.

There are two questions to take into account when looking at why I make this claim. What is the product, what is the user base?

They are attempting to do what many great companies do but they fail to understand how sadly invaluable this product is. Usually apps continue to grow with such updates because the product is worth the price or the inconvenience. The most relevant example I could think of is Spotify, but many argue even then that’s a stretch. But for C.Ai, the free version and the paid version are both sub par at best. The free version is a restricted experience to encourage you to pay a hefty $120 a year free for the ability to use the app freely. That could be justified if the chat bot model was worth that $120 dollars, but intuitively anyone could tell you that spending that much money on this current product not worth it. With Spotify, access to unlimited music has more value than heavy restricted music access. The same is not true for C.Ai. The current user experience is so uncertain and almost janky that its user base feels rightfully confused and betrayed. Instead of being a loyal costumer, you begin feel like the product being used for just your ability to put money into the pockets of those in higher power. (Idk if that point makes sense but oh well)

That brings me to my second point, the user base. What really tickles me is the fact that they make the app 18+, restricting its base to just adults, through needing identification, but then go against that same 18+ user base by almost baby proofing the app, which seems like an attempt to bring back users under the age of 18. (Holy run on) This can be seen through the seemingly lobotomized chat models, and the highly reactive filters, all in the attempt to restrict more morally gray and potentially “dangerous” content. It creates an uncomfortable environment where none of the previous loyal user base of all ages feels valued or welcomed as a costumer.

So a bad product and no clear user base is a recipe for disaster. You have nothing of value to sell and no clear idea of who you want to sell it to. (I theorize they want to make aimed towards kids which is a whole other ethical debate and I could go into that but i lowkey don’t want to)

Overall I’m very disappointed with the new direction of the app. It’s hard to balance finances with a site like this but playing by the same corporate playbook leads to situations where the users are unsatisfied with a service not meant for them.

So yeah. I’m bored and it’s late and I thought it would be cool to dive into it a bit. This is mostly unrevised so excuse any confusing bits or unclear details. hope you enjoyed:P

All I did was link a post must’ve been reallll bad

I made a attempt to do a analysis on the current situation (An Essay….)

(Non CAI) Lightshade invite code

(Non CAI) Lightshade invite code