Brainstorm Ideas For New App Features By Using Prompts

Building out new and innovative app features is the best way to gain and retain app users. And one of the biggest steps when building out a roadmap is having a comprehensive backlog of potential feature ideas.

ChatGPT can help you come up with new app features based on:

1. Existing research (for example, personas, pain points, and competitors)
2. Features you already have (like reminders or referrals)
3. Your goals (such as decreasing drop-off during onboarding, or increasing retention after Day 30)

The three key elements in generating useful answers are: 

• Identifying your app category
• Describing your user persona
• Asking for output in a specific way — like a summary, list, or table

Here’s how to construct your prompt

First, set the stage by defining your app category and who your app is for:

I am building a [app category] app for a specific user persona. They are [describe persona in detail].

Then be clear about what kind of ideas you need:

1. Generate a list of [x number] potential new app features that address the needs and pain points of my persona.
2. Brainstorm a list of [x number] innovative features that will set my app apart from its competitors.
3. Identify untapped opportunities and generate [x number] app feature suggestions that address them.

Lastly, format the answer in a digestible way:

1. Present the answers in a table.
2. Present the answers in a bulleted format.

Bringing that all together, we have the following prompt:

I am building a fitness app for a specific user persona. They are focused on being as healthy as possible, eating healthily, being productive, and staying on top of the latest health trends. They spend on average two hours at the gym, four times a week. They like influencers like Ronda Rousey, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Michael Phelps. Generate a list of innovative app features that will set my app apart from its competitors. Present the answers in a table.

Pro tip: based on the answers you get, you may want to select one of the app feature recommendations and then prompt ChatGPT to come up with alternatives.

You can also come at this from the angle of the problem you’re trying to solve.

For example, I ran: Users are dropping off in my finance app after day 30. List ideas for new features in finance apps that will help engage users and increase retention.

Here’s the response I got back: