Inspiration
We've all been there—needing expert advice but facing high costs and limited access. Whether it's career guidance, cooking tips, fitness coaching, or learning a new skill, people constantly seek expert help and often pay significant amounts for it. I realized there was a gap: What if everyone could have instant access to expert advice for any situation, anytime they needed it, without breaking the bank? That's when the idea struck me—I could leverage AI to create personalized experts for every scenario. Not just one generic assistant, but a platform where you could build your own team of AI experts tailored to your specific needs. And that's how AssistMate was born: Your AI expert in everything.
What it does
AssistMate is your personal expert for every situation. => How it works:
- You define a role once—just a name and description (like "Career Coach" or "Cooking Expert")
- The AI remembers your last 10 messages, so answers are personal and context-aware
- Choose from three modes based on your needs: Economy: Fast, simple replies (free, 10 questions/day) Balanced: Clear, well-structured answers Detailed: Comprehensive, professional insights
=> Features:
- Create unlimited roles for different situations
- Search through your roles easily
- Track your message count
- Try premium plans with 3-7 day trial periods
- Safe AI that avoids harmful or unsafe advice
How we built it
Tech Stack:
- Built with Kotlin and Compose Multiplatform
- Powered by Google Gemini 2.0 Flash Lite for AI responses
- RevenueCat for subscription management (1 offering, 12 products, 4 entitlements)
Key Implementation:
- Roles stored as system prompts for context-aware conversations
- Last 10 messages summarized and remembered for continuity
- Three subscription tiers (Economy/Balanced/Detailed) with weekly/monthly options
- Search functionality to find previously created roles
- Safety measures to ensure responsible AI responses
- Message counting and tracking system
Challenges we ran into
Technical:
- Designing AI that remembers context but stays lightweight and fast
- Started with Compose Multiplatform for iOS too, but hit issues I haven't resolved yet (Android-only for now)
- Implementing subscription management and message counting seamlessly
Product:
- Balancing free vs premium features without limiting user creativity
- Making answers personal, reliable, and trustworthy across different roles
- Finding the right pricing that's accessible but sustainable
Personal:
- Building alone with limited time—progress was slow
- Learning to say no to feature requests to keep it simple
Accomplishments that we're proud of
✅ Created an AI assistant that truly remembers context and adapts to user needs ✅ Users can create unlimited expert roles, making it deeply personal ✅ Successfully implemented three modes for different user budgets and needs ✅ Made AI accessible with 10 free questions daily forever ✅ Designed honest pricing ($2-18/month) with transparent trial periods ✅ Built safety measures so AI avoids harmful advice ✅ Achieved 86-90% profit margins, proving social good can be sustainable Most proud of: Helping my shy friend gain confidence, then realizing this could help millions of others too.
What we learned
Technical:
- Integrating AI with custom roles and system prompts creates truly personal experiences
- People value continuity and context in AI conversations
- Memory management (summarise last 10 messages) is the sweet spot between context and performance
Product:
- Designing flexible subscription models is crucial for user adoption
- Simplicity wins—two screens are enough if they're the right two screens
- Free tiers build trust, which converts to paid users
Design:
- Safety and responsible AI design are essential for building trust
- Clear button copy and transparent pricing matter more than flashy features
Personal:
- Building in public doesn't require daily posts—honesty matters more
- Community feedback beats my assumptions every time
- You can build something meaningful even with limited time
What's next for AssistMate
Short-term:
- Fix iOS issues and launch on iOS (making it truly cross-platform)
- Improve memory to handle longer conversations beyond 10 messages
- Gather user feedback from early adopters to refine the experience
Medium-term:
- Voice integration to make AssistMate even more interactive and accessible
- Build Community - Community-shared roles so users can benefit from others' expertise
- More AI models for specialized domains and capabilities
Long-term:
- Expand to web version for desktop users
- Partner with schools to help students like my friend
- Scale globally while keeping the free tier sustainable
The mission: Make expert advice accessible to everyone, everywhere, at any time. 🚀
Built With
- android
- cmp
- kmp
- kotlin
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