Hey — it’s Nico.

This is Behind Tactics 🧠, the Failory newsletter where I share the strategies behind the best startups.

This issue takes 7 mins to read. If you only have one, here’s what you need to know:

• Senja boosted user activation by automating onboarding through AI-powered web scraping, increasing its activation rate from 26% to over 50%.

• The strategy leverages existing user data—instead of asking users to manually input information, the AI scrapes content from users’ websites to jumpstart the experience.

• By showing value early, without overwhelming users, Senja ensures users hit their Aha! Moment quickly and are more likely to stay engaged.

• This approach reduces friction by turning what was once a tedious onboarding process into a seamless experience, giving users a head start with minimal effort.

This issue is brought to you by Intercom — you can now watch Pioneer, the event where they presented Fin 2, the most advanced customer service AI agent.

Let’s get into it.

Watch Intercom’s Pioneer Summit On-Demand ^AD

A few weeks ago, we shared details about Intercom's inaugural AI customer service summit, Pioneer.

If you missed the live event, you can now catch up on-demand.

Hosted by Intercom’s Founder & CEO, Eoghan McCabe, alongside Paul Adams, the event dives into the evolving role of AI in customer service.

They also unveiled Fin 2, Intercom’s latest AI agent designed to manage entire frontline support operations with human-like quality and efficiency.

The Strategy

Scrape to Onboard

A few weeks ago, I discussed how PamPam used AI to speed up the Aha! Moment for its users by generating instant, personalized maps. It was a prime example of AI making onboarding smoother by removing unnecessary steps. 

This time, we’re exploring a strategy that follows the same idea—using AI to deliver an Aha! Moment, but with a twist: it’s designed for B2B companies.

Meet Senja, a tool that helps businesses manage their customer testimonials. The platform simplifies the process by helping companies collect, organize, and showcase feedback efficiently.

Some months ago, Senja had a big problem: the onboarding process was too demanding. Users were expected to manually upload all their testimonials before they could even explore the app’s features.

This is what the import form looks like:

Now, imagine having to fill out that form at least 15 times.

It’s simply too much to ask from a user who does not even know if your product is good yet.

Unsurprisingly, many gave up before reaching that point. With the activation rate stuck at just 26%, it was clear that Senja needed a better way to demonstrate its value without overwhelming new users.

The real issue was timing. Asking users to upload all their testimonials right away, before they could see what the platform could do for them. To solve this, the team at Senja turned to AI. Instead of making users do all the work upfront, they introduced an automated testimonial scraping feature, giving users a head start without the hassle.

Here’s how it works: During onboarding, new users simply provide the URL of their business website. Senja’s AI then scrapes the website for existing testimonials, pulls them into the platform, and presents them neatly inside the app. With this automated jumpstart, users get to experience the product in action within minutes.

The scraped testimonials might not cover everything, but that’s okay—the goal isn’t perfection. It’s to get users to their Aha! Moment fast enough that they’ll be motivated to explore further.

Once users see how Senja organizes and displays even a handful of testimonials, they’re more likely to continue the process on their own. And the best part? Users now experience the value of the product before investing too much time in manual tasks.

It’s a prime example of how B2B tools can leverage AI to provide a seamless experience, much like PamPam did for consumers. The lesson here is clear: reducing friction in onboarding, whether for businesses or individuals, makes all the difference.

Should I?

Why This Works

• Instant Aha! Moment: With the AI scraping testimonials right from the user’s website, the payoff is immediate. Instead of spending time setting up, users see Senja’s value within minutes. This fast gratification makes the product feel useful right away.

• Simplifies Tool Integration: For many businesses, integrating a new tool into their existing workflows is a tedious process. Importing legacy data like testimonials is usually time-consuming, leading to friction. Senja’s scraping feature removes this burden by pulling data directly from the user’s website, making the transition smooth and nearly effortless.

• Reduces Onboarding Fatigue: B2B onboarding can feel overwhelming because it often requires users to migrate large amounts of data just to get started. Senja’s automation cuts down the mental load, easing the path for users to experience the product’s value without drowning in setup tasks.

• Adapts to Complex Data Structures: B2B companies often deal with unstructured data spread across multiple systems. Web scraping provides a smart way to gather and organize this scattered information, streamlining onboarding without requiring custom integrations or data transfers.

How to Apply It

• Start with Partial Automation: You don’t need to automate everything perfectly. Just like Senja’s scraping feature, offering a quick jumpstart—even if it’s not comprehensive—can be enough to hook users.

• Pre-Fill Key Data Without Overload: Identify low-effort, high-impact data that can be scraped—such as product catalogs, client lists, or service descriptions. The goal is to offer a meaningful preview of the tool’s capabilities while keeping the experience streamlined and focused.

• Make Onboarding Flexible: Let users manually fine-tune after experiencing the initial benefits of your product. If they enjoy the automated process, they’ll be motivated to continue setting things up on their own.

• Make Scraped Data Actionable Right Away: Don’t just import raw data—immediately show how the scraped content can be used. For example, if scraping a project timeline, display it within the tool’s reporting feature so users see results in context.

• Set Up “Progressive Scraping” for Continuous Onboarding: Instead of scraping everything upfront, allow the tool to fetch more data gradually as the user explores different features. This makes the onboarding feel lighter while keeping the experience engaging over time.

Yes, But

• Quality of Scraped Data Can Vary: There’s always a risk that the AI might miss important information or pull in incorrect data. While users can fill in the gaps later, bad first impressions can lead to frustration and abandonment.

• Not All Business Data Is Web-Friendly: Some businesses may store crucial information in formats that can’t be easily scraped from websites, such as internal databases or proprietary software. This limits the effectiveness of scraping in certain cases.

• AI Doesn’t Fit Every Business Model: While AI onboarding works well for tools like Senja, some B2B products require highly customized workflows that AI may struggle to replicate. Complex processes or niche industries may still need manual input and personal onboarding.

Keep Learning

Others Playing It

Macaw

Macaw is a tool for creating AI-generated blog content that feels authentically human. The onboarding is as simple as it gets—you provide your company’s URL, and Macaw’s AI does the rest. It scans your website to understand your company’s identity and ideal customer profile (ICP).

Based on that, it suggests topics and generates a ready-to-publish blog post.

This eliminates the need for users to write long-winded descriptions about their business, giving them instant access to the product’s value with almost no effort.

SEOBOT

Similarly, SEOBOT offers a smart solution for content ideation. You sign up, input your website’s URL, and the AI reads through your site to identify your core topics, target audience, and even conducts keyword research.

Within minutes, it suggests several blog post ideas tailored to your business. This not only saves users time but also provides them with actionable insights—showing the tool’s value right away without requiring a deep dive into features or setup.

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That’s all for this edition.

Cheers,

Nico