Overview

Yorb is an AI-powered email application designed to transform the traditional email experience into a faster, more intuitive conversational format. While email remains an essential communication tool, managing lengthy threads, extracting key information, and keeping track of multiple conversations can become increasingly challenging in today’s fast-paced work environments. The idea behind Yorb was to bridge the gap between formal email communication and the simplicity of modern chat-based interactions. By leveraging AI, Yorb summarises complex email threads and presents conversations in a chat-like format, helping users understand information quickly and respond efficiently.

Identifying Friction in Traditional Email Workflows

The primary UX challenge was addressing information overload caused by long email threads and fragmented conversations. Unlike chat platforms where communication is immediate and contextual, emails often require users to scan through multiple messages to understand the latest updates, decisions, and required actions. Through benchmarking existing email and messaging platforms, I explored opportunities to combine the familiarity of email with the efficiency of conversational interfaces. This led to the concept of transforming emails into structured, digestible conversations while maintaining the reliability and context of traditional email.

Designing a Conversational Email Experience

Yorb introduces an interaction model where users can switch between traditional email and chat-based views depending on their preference. The AI-generated summaries provide quick context, allowing users to understand lengthy discussions without reading every individual message. The experience also enables users to interact with emails more naturally through quick responses and simplified composition flows. This reduces cognitive effort and allows users to manage communication more efficiently while on the move.

Simplifying Information Consumption on Mobile

A key design consideration was creating an experience optimised for users managing communication in fast-paced environments. The interface prioritises clarity, quick comprehension, and minimal interaction overhead. Features such as AI summaries, email categorisation, chat-style conversations, and quick reply options were designed to help users process information faster while maintaining control over their communication.

Balancing Familiarity With Innovation

While introducing a new communication paradigm, Yorb needed to remain familiar enough for users accustomed to traditional email. The design approach focused on enhancing existing behaviours rather than replacing them completely. By combining the structure of email with the simplicity of chat interfaces, Yorb creates a more accessible and efficient communication experience powered by AI. Through this project, I explored how AI can be used not only to automate tasks but also to reshape existing digital experiences around evolving user behaviours.