Ant Forest+
This project analyzed the operational status of Ant Forest, a public welfare initiative under Alipay, identifying key pain points in the user experience. To enhance user engagement and ensure sustainability, the project optimized existing interactive features and introduced augmented reality (AR) technology to offer a more immersive and dynamic experience. These improvements aimed to increase user participation and strengthen the long-term impact of Ant Forest.
Key words: User experience optimization, Interactive features, Augmented reality (AR)
Time
Feb. 2023-Apr.2023
Type
UX Design
Team
Individual
/ Background
Ant Forest
Ant Forest is a public welfare app developed by Ant Financial, designed to promote carbon reduction and forest conservation through user participation in gamified activities. In Ant Forest, users can accumulate "energy" by engaging in low-carbon behaviors, such as walking or using public transportation. This energy can then be donated to plant real trees. The app uses game-like elements to encourage participation, making the process both engaging and rewarding while achieving the goals of carbon reduction and forest protection.
Product Value of Ant Forest
Low Carbon Practice
Light social
Self-actualization
Ant Forest encourages users to engage in eco-friendly actions, like reducing single-use items and using public transportation. Its gamified design attracts users and helps them develop low-carbon habits.
Ant Forest's social games create a positive vibe, strengthen users' sense of belonging, and offer a casual way to expand social networks, boosting daily active users for Alipay.
Users accumulate green energy to plant real trees, achieving personal environmental goals while gaining a sense of contribution, accomplishment, and self-worth.
/ User Research
Through user interviews, we gained in-depth insights into the needs and usage patterns of three user groups in Ant Forest. We created user personas and evaluated user engagement through data analysis.
Persona
"The process of accumulating energy excites me. Contributing to society through my low-carbon actions gives me a strong sense of accomplishment."
She sets an alarm to wake up early every day and completes a series of tasks, such as daily check-ins and collecting energy. She is also passionate about practicing low-carbon behaviors to gather energy.
Age：21
Occupation：Student
Energy harvester
"Usually, I feel guilty when I waste time on my phone, but Ant Forest is a public welfare project, so it makes me feel that wasting time is meaningful."
He doesn't fully understand the rules, but he has a heart for supporting environmental protection. When he has free time, he enters Ant Forest to collect energy and plant trees.
Age：34
Occupation: Lawyer
Laid-back player
"Ant Forest is a great social tool. It doesn't disturb each other too much but still helps maintain an emotional connection."
Planting a family tree with my family, a love tree with my boyfriend, and a friendship tree with my roommates not only strengthens our relationships but also supports environmental protection.
Age：26
Occupation: Teacher
Social Player
Current status of Ant Forest users
Although Ant Forest is a public welfare initiative with a positive impact on users, user engagement has gradually declined in recent years. To understand this phenomenon, the reasons behind users' decreasing participation in Ant Forest were explored.
Are you currently using Ant Forest?
According to the research, more than half of the users have used it before but no longer do. So, what are the reasons for their discontinuation?
26%
Used it before
57%
17%
Always Using
Never
Got bored after playing for a long time
Lack of a sense of accomplishment after planting trees
The tree planting process is too long
It hasn't shaped my low-carbon behavior
I'm not sure if the trees I planted are actually growing
Fewer friends are participating, leading to reduced interest
Why don’t you use Ant Forest anymore?
Key Insights
User feedback reveals decline in perceived value of Ant Forest
Low Carbon Practice
Light social
The user's tree planting goal is unclear
The guidance for low-carbon behavior is unclear
The planted trees lack a sense of presence
Product Value
User Pain Points
Specific issues
Fewer friends are participating, and the environmental vibe is missing
Unable to gain a sense of accomplishment from planting trees
Failed to effectively motivate users to practice low-carbon behavior
Self-actualization
Social game mechanics lack appeal
Issue 1
Issue 2
Issue 4
Issue 3
/ Issues Analysis
Issue 1
The guidance for low-carbon behavior is unclear
The current design makes it difficult for users to understand the rules for generating green energy, failing to effectively educate and guide users to actively engage in low-carbon behaviors.
The energy generation rules are too obscure
How do users find the rules?
2
3
4
1
The rules for generating green energy are unclear.
There are too many steps, making it difficult to find the entry point for the rules.
84% of users stated:
Click the Rewards button (The “rewards” is not clear)
View Tips ( The font size is too small)
Choose specific green behaviors
View detailed guide on green behavior
1
Emphasize the energy value while downplaying the energy source.
Users do not pay much attention to the value when collecting energy.
Energy is passively generated, not actively acquired.
Low-carbon behavior is weakened
The bubble design has not effectively guided low-carbon behaviors
The Ant Forest has not increased awareness of low-carbon behaviors.
The Ant Forest has not motivated them to actively practice low-carbon behaviors.
76% of users stated:
Issue 2
The user's tree planting goal is unclear
Users lack the motivation to accumulate energy and plant trees without a clear planting goal.
The planting system does not provide users with a sense of purpose or goal
The "To Protect" page shows the energy progress and difference for each tree (most users plant when there's enough energy and exit if not)
The user selects saplings through the "To Protect" button (but most users indicate that they only visit occasionally).
2
How do users perceive their tree planting goals?
They do not set specific tree planting goals.
80% of users stated:
1
Issue 3
The planted trees lack a sense of presence
Planted trees lack sufficient positive feedback, making it difficult for users to feel a sense of accomplishment and motivation.
The visual feedback for planted trees is weak
1
The small tree icon under the big tree
Most users are unaware that the small tree under the big tree represents the trees that have been planted.
Number of certificates
The number of certificates represents the number of trees planted / areas protected.
2
How do users perceive the trees they have planted?
Planted trees lack enough presence
72% of users stated:
Issue 4
Social game mechanics lack appeal
The lack of gamification leads to low user engagement, user attrition, and makes it difficult to create a low-carbon, environmentally-friendly atmosphere through social interactions.
Social interactions are monotonous
1
The social group is limited
The social scope is restricted to friends, resulting in a small circle.
The game mechanism is too simplistic
Only stealing energy and joint planting create social interactions. As time passes, users' interest wanes, and the current game doesn't build strong social connections.
2
Ant Forest's social interactions are monotonous and repetitive, with fewer friends playing the game.
78% of users stated:
Solution deduction
The planted trees lack a sense of presence
The user's tree planting goal is unclear
The guidance for low-carbon behavior is unclear
Specific issues
Social game mechanics lack appeal
Issue 1
Solutions
Introduce AR exploration to link low-carbon behaviors with real-world scenarios
Visualize user goals to motivate energy accumulation
Enhance the realism and presence of planted trees, and increase positive feedback
Enrich the game’s worldview and introduce AR gameplay
Emphasize low-carbon behavior and optimize task prompts
/ Concept Statement
Solutions
Make the rules for generating green energy clear to users. Use task rewards to guide users in discovering new low-carbon behaviors and actively practicing them.
Emphasize low-carbon behavior and optimize task prompts
Solution 1
Encourage users to explore more low-carbon lifestyles in their daily scenarios with curiosity and a desire to discover, integrating environmental protection into their everyday life.
Introduce AR exploration to link low-carbon behaviors with real-world scenarios
Solution 2
Visualize user goals to motivate energy accumulation
Visualize the user's tree-planting goals to enhance their perception of green energy accumulation.
Solution 3
Enhance the realism and presence of planted trees, and increase positive feedback
Allow users to more intuitively understand their environmental achievements, gain a sense of accomplishment, and increase their motivation to continue planting.
Solution 4
Enrich the game’s worldview and introduce AR gameplay
Users can plant and interact with personalized trees in the real environment using AR. Location-based collaborative planting allows users to join tree-planting efforts with people around them, creating a collective eco-friendly atmosphere.
Solution 5
New Information Architecture
/ Design Solution
Solution 1
Emphasize low-carbon behavior and optimize task prompts
Make the rules for generating green energy clear to users. Use task rewards to guide users in discovering new low-carbon behaviors and actively practicing them.
Before
After
Homepage
Homepage
1
2
3
1
Modified Energy Bubble
Add a prominent button to guide users to the energy increase entry point.
Change the bubble display to make the energy source the primary content.
2
Define the walkthrough entry
The new tasks take the form of bubbles to encourage users to actively engage in low-carbon tasks.
3
Add mission bubble
Solution 2
Introduce AR exploration to link low-carbon behaviors with real-world scenarios
Encourage users to explore more low-carbon lifestyles in their daily scenarios with curiosity and a desire to discover, integrating environmental protection into their everyday life.
1
2
Street scene
Shop scene
Users can scan relevant objects on the street and click on bubbles to gain low-carbon information:
Users can scan to access information about low-carbon products.
Purchasing these products will earn green energy based on the emissions reductions during their production process.
Low-carbon Science (e.g., how much oxygen the nearby trees generate every day)
Low-carbon Good Habits (e.g., the energy and emissions saved by cycling instead of driving the same distance)
Low-carbon Activities (e.g., Ant Forest's weekly car-free day events)
Solution 3
Visualize user goals to motivate energy accumulation
Visualize the user's tree-planting goals to enhance their perception of green energy accumulation.
1
2
Appointment System
Energy Progress Bar
Users can reserve the saplings they want to plant on the 'To Protect' page.
After the appointment, a Energy Progress Bar will be generated on the homepage to clearly display the user's goal completion status.
2
Solution 4
Enhance the realism and presence of planted trees, and increase positive feedback
Allow users to more intuitively understand their environmental achievements, gain a sense of accomplishment, and increase their motivation to continue planting.
1
2
1
3D visualized tree
Before: Inconspicuous, flat tree icon.
After: 3D forest visualization, enhancing the concept of a forest.
2
3
Display the tree's real growth status
Add a reward system for planted trees
Before: Growth updates were hidden, and certificates lacked a sense of authenticity.
After: Display detailed information about the planted trees, such as location, growth status, height, etc.
Before: Planted trees could not provide effective feedback to users.
After: Planted trees can also generate green energy for users, encouraging them to plant more trees.
Before
After
1
2
3
My Forest
Solution 5
Enrich the game’s worldview and introduce AR gameplay
Users can plant and interact with personalized trees in the real environment using AR. Location-based collaborative planting allows users to join tree-planting efforts with people around them, creating a collective eco-friendly atmosphere.
Analyze the various touchpoints in Ant Forest that can be migrated to AR games."
Touchpoint Migration
On the homepage of Ant Forest, the most prominent tree displays the user's profile, with customizable appearance and decorations. It absorbs and stores energy, known as the 'Energy Tree.' In the AR game, it represents the player's persona and is the core of social interactions.
My Energy Tree
In Ant Forest, users plant trees by collecting energy, but they cannot intuitively perceive this process. In the AR game, users can bring their planted trees into their surroundings, enhancing the sense of reality and presence.
Planted Trees
In Ant Forest, users can team up with others to co-plant trees, transferring energy to the team's 'energy source,' and the leader uses this energy to plant trees. In the AR game, co-planted trees can also appear in the real world and can be initiated based on location.
Co-plant Energy Tree
My Energy Tree
After the user selects the sapling, comments and status will be displayed as bullet screens above the virtual sapling.
Users can plant their energy tree in the AR world, interact with and decorate them, and use them as social cards.
Bullet Screen
When the user clicks on the energy tree, the sapling will engage in interactive dialogue with the user, enhancing its sense of life and making it more fun.
Interactive Dialogue
Enrich the existing decoration system, increase the freedom of decoration, and incorporate it as one of the social gameplay elements.
Decoration system
In AR, the virtual sapling is linked to the real sapling's location through energy transmission, enhancing the sense of realism.
Energy Link
The energy tree will grow as energy accumulates, motivating users to gather more energy.
Energy Tree Growth
4
5
Co-plant Energy Tree
When users discover co-planted trees, they can like and leave messages on them. The messages will float above the co-planted tree in the form of bullet screens.
The co-planting feature allows users to find like-minded people nearby to plant trees together, creating a shared sense of environmental atmosphere.
Comment and Like
Users can apply to join co-planting in AR, and once they successfully join, they can consume energy to water the co-planted tree.
Apply to join
The detailed information of the co-planted tree will be displayed here, and users who contribute the most will be featured on the contribution leaderboard, motivating users to water the co-planted tree.
Co-plant tree information card
4
Map Exploration
When users discover trees from other users nearby, they can water, like, or leave messages for them. Through these interactions, users will feel that they are not alone in the shared environmental conservation effort.
Others’ Tree
Users can also explore the energy trees and virtual saplings of themselves, their friends, and strangers through the map.
After the user selects the sapling, comments and status will be displayed as bullet screens above the virtual sapling.
Users can plant the trees they obtain in Ant Forest through AR in the city, enhancing the sense of realism and companionship of the planted trees, while also enriching the city's fun and appeal.
Bullet Screen
When the user clicks on the energy tree, the sapling will engage in interactive dialogue with the user, enhancing its sense of life and making it more fun.
Interactive Dialogue
Users can know the real growth status of the saplings at any time through the information card at the bottom
Information Cards
In AR, the virtual sapling is linked to the real sapling's location through energy transmission, enhancing the sense of realism.
Energy Link
Users can decorate the AR planted trees
Decoration
4
5
My Planted Tree
/ User Feedbacks
User Feedbacks
"Before this, I overlooked many ways to collect energy. The new design has made the rules for collection much clearer to me. With AR, I can see the energy sources growing continuously, and the saplings I plant keep growing around me. I feel more accomplished and motivated to collect more energy!"
Energy harvester
I think planting AR trees in the real environment makes the city full of changes and freshness, immersing us in a whole new and wonderful world. If this design really becomes a reality, I would definitely take out my phone often to explore the differences around me!
Laid-back player
The new game still maintains a light social mode, not just among friends, but also allowing interaction with strangers, expanding the social network. You can also plant together with friends and classmates around you and see the results of your efforts. This gives me a sense of belonging, knowing that we're all working together to practice environmental protection.
Social Player
