Landing page for First Conversations web app

First Conversations - AI Social Anxiety Coach - HealthCare Track

Inspiration

First Conversations was inspired by a real and common problem: many people struggle with social anxiety, especially when meeting someone for the first time. Whether it is talking to a new roommate, starting a conversation with someone they like, or simply meeting new people, these moments can feel stressful and high-pressure.

We wanted to create something meaningful that could help people practice these situations in a safe, private, and judgment-free environment.

What We Built

We built an AI-powered web app that lets users practice first-time conversations with an intelligent companion. Users can choose scenarios, speak naturally, and receive supportive feedback after each interaction.

The goal is to help users build confidence through repetition and realistic practice before facing real-world situations.

How We Built It

We used:

Next.js 14 + TypeScript for the full-stack web app
Tailwind CSS for the interface
Prisma + SQLite for data storage
NextAuth for Google login
Zustand for state management
Hugging Face / Ollama for AI conversation responses
MediaPipe for face and attention tracking
Web Speech API for voice input/output

This combination allowed us to create an interactive experience with real-time AI conversations.

Challenges We Faced

One of the biggest challenges was making conversations feel natural and responsive. We also had to combine multiple technologies like speech recognition, webcam analysis, authentication, and AI responses into one smooth experience.

Another challenge was designing feedback that felt supportive rather than critical, since the purpose of the product is to reduce anxiety, not increase it.

What We Learned

Through this project, we learned how to integrate AI into a real user experience, connect multiple APIs, manage full-stack development under time pressure, and design technology around empathy.

Most importantly, we learned that good technology is not just powerful, it should solve real human problems in a thoughtful way.

What's Next

We plan to expand into more scenarios such as interviews, networking, and presentations, while improving personalization and smarter AI feedback over time.