Welling AI Weight Loss Coach

Crafting Commitment: The 37-Step Onboarding Gauntlet

Welling doesn't shy away from asking questions. Its onboarding flow is a comprehensive, 37-step journey designed to deeply understand the user and build investment from the first tap. It's not just data collection; it's a meticulously crafted personalization engine.

Users are guided through questions covering:

Core Goals: Weight loss targets (kg).
Physical Stats: Age, height (cm), current weight (kg).
Health Context: Pregnancy status, dietary intolerances (gluten, lactose), health restrictions, food dislikes (even asking about "sugary things").
Lifestyle & Habits: Preferred diet type (High protein, Keto, Vegan, etc.), calorie tracking history.
Motivation: Why losing weight is important (e.g., "To be healthy").
Personalization Details: Preferred name, country, and city for tailored guidance.

This extensive process, visualized with a clear progress bar, achieves several things:

Deep Personalization: Gathers rich data for the AI coach.
User Investment: The Sunk Cost Fallacy kicks in; users completing this are less likely to abandon the app.
Sets Expectations: Primes the user for a detailed, personalized experience.

Crucially, Welling requests notification permissions early, framing them as essential for alerts and coaching – a smart move to secure engagement channels before hitting the user with the core app or paywall. 📲

AI at the Core: Photo Logging & Conversational Tracking

Welling's core promise revolves around simplifying calorie tracking through AI. Two key features stand out:

Photo Logging: Users can snap a picture of their meal, and the app's AI identifies the food items, estimates portions, and calculates calories and macros. This dramatically lowers the friction typically associated with manual food logging. 📸
Chat Interface: The primary interaction model is a conversational AI assistant named Welling. Users can log meals ("I had two eggs and 100g of white rice for breakfast"), log their weight ("I weigh 56kg now"), ask nutritional questions, and get coaching advice directly within the chat. This feels intuitive and less like data entry. 💬

The AI provides feedback ("Eggs are a good choice for your high protein diet"), guidance ("For the best results, tell me measurements..."), and encouragement. This conversational approach aims to make tracking feel less like a chore and more like interacting with a supportive coach.

See the Results, Feel the Progress

Beyond logging, Welling provides clear visual feedback loops to keep users engaged and motivated:

Progress Dashboards: Dedicated sections track daily/weekly calories (eaten, remaining, burned), macronutrient breakdowns (protein, carbs, fat), fiber intake, water consumption, steps, and weight changes over time (7, 30, 90 days). 📊
Meal Summaries: Logged meals (via photo or chat) generate detailed cards showing estimated calories and macros, which users can edit or save as favorites for quick logging later.
Streaks: A simple "Day Streak" counter gamifies consistency, encouraging daily logging. 🔥
Apple Health Integration: Allows seamless syncing of activity, steps, weight, and workout data, providing a holistic view of the user's health journey.

This focus on visualizing progress helps users see the impact of their efforts, reinforcing the app's value and encouraging continued use.

The Hard Paywall & Conversion Tactics

Welling employs a "Hard Paywall" strategy. After the extensive onboarding but before granting full access to the core app features, users are presented with subscription options. This is a high-friction approach, filtering for highly motivated users willing to commit financially based on the promise established during onboarding.

Key elements of their conversion funnel include:

Free Trial Offer: A 7-day free trial is offered, typically defaulting to an annual plan ($9.99/m billed annually, showing a 50% saving) but also offering quarterly ($13.33/m) and monthly ($19.99/m, no trial) options.
Transparency: The paywall clearly outlines the trial duration, when billing starts (e.g., Mar 19, 2025), and the reminder schedule ("Day 5: Trial Reminder"). This aims to reduce cancellation anxiety.
App Store Rating Prompt: Strategically placed before the paywall, asking "Enjoying Welling?" to potentially capture positive ratings when user excitement is high. ⭐
Value Reinforcement: Onboarding screens subtly highlight benefits like AI tracking, coaching, and results ("Expect to start seeing results in 1-2 weeks").

This strategy, combined with running ads, suggests Welling is confident in its onboarding's ability to sell the value proposition effectively enough to secure a trial commitment upfront.

Key Takeaways for App Builders

Welling AI's approach, while potentially gating many casual users with its upfront commitment model, offers valuable lessons:

Onboarding as Conversion: A long, personalized onboarding isn't just data collection; it's a powerful tool to build user investment and justify a subsequent paywall.
AI for Friction Reduction: Leveraging AI for tasks like photo-based food logging can significantly improve the user experience for traditionally tedious activities.
Conversational Interfaces: Chatbots can make tracking and coaching feel more natural and supportive than traditional form-based inputs.
Strategic Permission Requests: Asking for notifications or health data access within the context of clear benefits increases opt-in rates.
Hard Paywalls Demand Strong Value: If you gate access early, your onboarding must effectively communicate a compelling, personalized value proposition that users are willing to pay (or start a trial) for.

Welling AI is betting that a deeply personalized, AI-driven coaching experience is compelling enough to convince users to commit early. While the low download numbers paired with decent revenue might suggest a niche but high-converting user base, it's a fascinating case study in leveraging onboarding and AI to drive subscription revenue in the competitive health tech landscape. 🚀