Marley AI Chatbot
I’m excited to share an impactful and enjoyable project I recently worked on for Costello Medical. The objective was to refresh the visual identity of an internal AI chatbot named Marley. The goal? To increase workflow efficiency by implementing new features and enhancing the user experience.
Year
2025
Role
UX/UI Designer
WHAT IS MARLEY?
Marley is an AI tool developed in-house at Costello Medical, powered by the latest models from OpenAI. Launched in 2023 as a secure, personalised AI tool designed to handle more confidential information, the first version of the app was rapidly adopted across the company. It's used to support everyday work – from synthesising complex data and generating code, to drafting emails and writing copy.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
While the app delivered basic functionality, its interface felt out of step with the rest of our internal product ecosystem – visually inconsistent, basic, and dated. It also lacked thoughtful, user-centric organisational and tailored features.
With the next version, we saw an opportunity to completely reimagine the experience: to bring the design in line with our brand, introduce new capabilities, and create a product that evolves alongside the fast-moving AI landscape.
1 | RESEARCH
An in-depth research phase at the start of the project allowed me to uncover users' pain points, expectations, and requirements, while also benchmarking the app against other AI tools to better understand market standards and opportunities.
MARKET RESEARCH
Competitor and current app audits
There are many AI chatbots now readily available online, so I deep dived into the most widely-used ones: ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
Alongside this, I conducted a comprehensive product audit of the existing platform to identify poor UX and opportunities.
USER RESEARCH
Usability testing
We conducted tests with 3 employees to empathise with the users and understand what they need from the product. Over individual video calls, we asked them to carry out 4 tasks and to speak their thoughts as they did. This uncovered opportunities and preferences amongst the users, to find out which of the features users at the company actually wanted.
Survey
I formulated questions and sent out a company-wide online survey that was answered by 135 employees. The main goals of the survey were to find out:
To what extent is the app currently being used?
What existing aspects are liked and disliked?
What features would users like to see?
The results were extensive and it was really interesting to hear people’s thoughts. It revealed user problems and identified features they actually wanted. Below are some examples:
"I often use ChatGPT over Marley purely because I prefer the design/interface: the Marley font is weird when you’re typing your search, you can’t just press enter to search (you have to click the search button)"
“If there was a way to group searches by topic/have a folder system, that would help to find previous searches”
“also be great to have a "stop answering" function to cut off long answers”
2 | ANALYSE
Affinity mapping
The results from the research phase were collated in a group session, where we defined common themes in the form of an affinity map. There was huge value in discussing the feedback with people seeing the results for the first time, preventing interviewer bias.
Once the themes were identified, I evaluated the results and suggested potential solutions to each theme. This process enabled me to write up a specification containing features and requirements for the new design.
3 | DESIGN
Interface Design
Based on the specification, I reworked the visual style by creating mockups and experimenting with different ways to make the new features easy to use. The main focus was a logical and intuitive design that encourages productivity and a streamlined workflow.
FINAL EXPERIENCE
Animations and interactions
During this project, I learned more about how animations and micro-interactions can elevate the design and create a more engaging and enjoyable user experience. I created animations in After Effects and guided the use of CSS animations.
Organisation
Chats can be grouped into folders and the most important ones can be pinned to the top, making them quick and easy to find when needed.
Customisation
Users can choose from a variety of response styles and lengths.
Manage conversations
Manage folders directly from the dedicated folder page. Each folder can have its own set of instructions and relevant files attached, enabling a more personalised and tailored experience.
