Driving growth for Acrobat AI Assistant

Improving understanding of a new PDF era.

As Design Manager for Acrobat, I led the multi-phase launch and optimization of Acrobat’s AI tools on Adobe.com. Over two years, our team refined how we educate users on the value of AI, improving clarity, discoverability, and conversion across multiple product releases.

Client

Adobe

Focus

My role

Date

Image of Acrobat Overview and AI Assistant feature page
Image of Acrobat Overview and AI Assistant feature page
Image of Acrobat Overview and AI Assistant feature page

🔎 Challenge

Launching AI within Acrobat introduced both opportunity and complexity. Users trusted Adobe for PDFs, but had limited understanding of how AI or design tools fit into their workflows. Key challenges included:

  • Limited CMS flexibility and timing constraints restricted initial merchandising options.

  • Users didn’t see clear value in AI or design features, viewing them as disconnected or unnecessary add-ons.

  • Confusing journeys and shallow content failed to tell a cohesive workflow story.

  • Teams across product, marketing, and design needed alignment on page intent and messaging depth.

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🪄 Process

Phase 1: Launching the Add-On

  • Introduced AI Assistant as an add-on to any Acrobat plan.

  • Simplified merchandising by surfacing add-on options earlier through an A/B test — adding pricing visibility, billing radio buttons, and an “add to plan” checkbox on the main product card.

  • Results: +4.7% CVR increase per quarter, driving significant revenue lift.




Phase 2: Evolving the Offering

  • Pivoted from add-on to higher-tier subscription SKU (Acrobat Studio), integrating Acrobat, AI and Express.

  • Led journey mapping exercises with PMM and studio teams to align requirements and visual storytelling.

  • Post-launch, we facilitated research synthesis workshops to turn user insights into actionable design priorities (see image above).

  • Discovered that users needed stronger storytelling to understand Acrobat as a multi-tool powerhouse, not just a PDF editor.




Phase 3: Alignment & Iteration

  • Facilitated additional workshops to redefine page intent and messaging hierarchy.

  • Directed updates to content depth, visual hierarchy, and narrative flow to teach value progressively as users explored deeper pages.

  • Collaborated with senior designers on wireframes using the existing design system to move fast without engineering dependency, while building North Star prototypes for future testing.

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🚀 Impact

  • +4.7% quarterly CVR lift after merchandising improvements.

  • Increased direct-to-purchase behavior and trial starts for Acrobat Studio.

  • Created cross-functional alignment between product, marketing, and studio teams.

  • Elevated organizational understanding of user needs and content strategy for AI education.

  • Ongoing iterations continue to refine storytelling and drive adoption for Acrobat’s AI capabilities.

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This project reinforced the value of iterative design leadership and storytelling clarity. By simplifying merchandising, aligning teams, and building educational journeys, we helped users see Acrobat as a dynamic, AI-powered productivity suite — not just a PDF tool.