Duolingo has cracked the notifications game!
As a Spanish learner, I have always been fascinated by Duolingo, the world’s most popular language learning app. Duolingo has achieved remarkable success by offering free, fun, and effective language courses to over 𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 users. How do they do it?
One of the most amazing aspects of Duolingo’s strategy is its 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺, which sends daily reminders to users to practice their language. Duolingo’s notifications are so persistent and guilt-tripping that they have become a popular internet meme. However, behind these notifications, there is a clever AI system that finds the best message to send to each user each day.
𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺 — Duolingo’s reminders aren’t random! They use a bandit algorithm, a form of AI that learns from past decisions which options are best. In this case, the algorithm chooses from a pool of pre-written notifications, and measures the user’s response to each one. The algorithm then adjusts the probability of sending each notification based on the user’s behavior. For example, if a user is 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 the app after receiving a notification that says “𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗗𝘂𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻”, the algorithm will send that notification more often. Conversely, if a user is 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲 a notification that says “𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝟰-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸”, the algorithm will send that notification less often
The AI even considers how often you’ve seen a reminder before, because even the most persistent learner gets tired of the same message. This way, Duolingo keeps your learning experience fresh and effective. You can also select your reminder tone like which Duo will you choose to bug you?
This has helped Duolingo increase user 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 rates and has helped new learners who often struggle to maintain consistent practice.
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