In-app guidanceHelp where your users are working.
In-app guidance is help inside your product, at the moment a user needs it. This guide covers the common kinds, from product tours to in-app AI agents, what each one is good for, and how to choose the mix that suits your product.
Why guidance belongs inside the product
A user with a question is in the middle of something: setting up a project, changing a setting, finding an export. Help that lives in a separate help centre asks them to stop, search, read and come back. Help inside the product meets them on the screen where the question came up, so they can keep going.
That matters most in the first weeks, when a new user decides whether your product is worth learning. It shows up in your activation rate and in how many “how do I” tickets reach your team.
The kinds of in-app guidance
Each kind suits a different moment. Most products use two or three together.
- Point it outTooltips, hotspots and product tours
- List what to doChecklists and in-app messages
- Explain itEmbedded help and support chat
- Do it for themAn in-app AI agent
Tooltips and hotspots
Good for: a short explanation attached to one control, shown on hover or as a small marker on something new. Where it stops: it explains one thing at a time; a task across several screens needs more.
Product tours
Good for: walking a new user along one path you choose, pointing at the important parts of the screen in order. Where it stops: it follows the path someone recorded, so it needs updating when those screens change, and it shows the same path to everyone.
Checklists and in-app messages
Good for: showing the handful of steps that matter and the user’s progress through them, or announcing something new to the right users. Where it stops: it says what to do; the user still finds and does each step.
Embedded help and support chat
Good for: answering questions in depth without leaving the product, with a person available for the hard ones. Where it stops: the user reads the answer, then does the steps themselves or waits for a reply.
An in-app AI agent
Good for: the “how do I” and “set this up for me” moments, in whatever words the user has. It does the steps in the product while the user watches. Where it stops: it moves through real pages, so it takes seconds rather than being instant, and anything that sends, spends or deletes goes back to the user to confirm.
How to choose
- One path most users take? A short tour or a checklist shows it well.
- Many users, many goals? Help that responds to what each user asks fits better than a fixed path.
- Screens that change often? Prefer guidance that reads the live screen, or that you can update without a release.
- A support queue full of setup questions? Look for guidance that finishes the task, not only explains it.
- How will you know it helped? Pick one number before you start: activation rate, time to value or “how do I” tickets.
Where Stiro fits
Stiro is an in-app AI agent you add to your web app. A user says what they want, such as “invite Priya as an admin” or “add Saturdays 10am to 2pm to my hours”, and Stiro clicks, types and navigates your product to do it while they watch.
- Nothing to record. One script tag in your app’s layout. It reads the live screen, so a redesign doesn’t break it.
- The user keeps the final say. Anything that sends, spends or deletes is prepared and handed back for them to press.
- It says so when it can’t. If your product can’t do what was asked, it stops and explains, and the user can message your team from the same panel.
- everyday requests passed, cold, in three apps it had never seen
- 44 of 44
- requests the apps couldn’t do, stopped with a reason and nothing changed
- 7 of 7
It works alongside the guidance you already have. See it set up new accounts on the AI onboarding page, read the user onboarding guide, or watch a real request from start to finish.
In-app guidance questions.
What is in-app guidance?
In-app guidance is help that appears inside your product, where the user is working, instead of in a help centre or an email. It includes tooltips, product tours, checklists, in-app messages, embedded help and in-app AI agents.
What is the difference between in-app guidance and a product tour?
A product tour is one kind of in-app guidance: a fixed sequence of steps that points out parts of the screen. In-app guidance also covers help that waits until the user needs it, such as a tooltip on hover, a checklist, a help panel or an agent the user can ask.
What should in-app guidance software do?
Show help at the moment of need, on the screen where the question comes up; keep working when your screens change; let you see whether it helped (activation, fewer support tickets); and stay out of the way of users who don’t need it.
When is a product tour the right choice?
When there is one path most new users should follow, and the screens on it change rarely. A short tour that points at three things is easy to follow; a long one that shows every feature is often skipped.
Do we need a separate tool for in-app guidance?
Not always. Empty states, sensible defaults and clear labels are guidance you build into the product itself. Separate tools help when you want to add or change help without a release, or when you want help that responds to what each user asks.
Where does Stiro fit?
Stiro is the doing kind of in-app guidance: the user says what they want in their own words, and an in-app AI agent does the steps in your product while they watch. There is nothing to record, and it reads the live screen, so it keeps working when your interface changes.
Let your users just ask.
Stiro does the steps in your app for your users. One script tag, 50 runs a month free, no card.