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MoneySavingExpert

Unleashing the power of Generative AI in a cost of living crisis

“The best thing about working with xDesign is it doesn't feel like you're working with xDesign, it feels like you're working with MSE.”

2x

Apple's 'App of the Day'

4.9

Rating on Apple App Store/Google Play

61k+

questions asked since August 2023

“The xDesign team has really integrated themselves into what MSE is all about and what we champion, and this informs the work that they do. They end up coming up with ideas, features, and opportunities that fit well within our ethos - as a result, it's been really easy to scale up the app alongside them.”

The story

Founded by Martin Lewis in 2003, MoneySavingExpert.com is now the UK's biggest consumer website, with more than 16 million users visiting the site each month. It’s dedicated to cutting its users’ bills and fighting their corner with journalistic research, cutting-edge tools and a massive community – all focused on finding deals, saving cash and campaigning for financial justice. Having previously worked with xDesign to build a smart mobile app, it’s new brief to us was simple: Build something that acts as if you’re talking to a clever person who has memorised all of the content on MSE’s website.

Martin Lewis

What we created

innovation

Innovate

We rallied our xLabs innovation team to design a solution that would make MSE’s rich, long-form content more accessible for its community of users - helping them to unlock more money saving opportunities in a matter of seconds. In just six weeks, our engineering team created a bespoke AI tool which combined ChatGPT, OpenAI and saw it build an embeddings database based on the client's existing knowledge base of editorial content.

experience

Experience

We wanted to provide users with a better experience when it came to interacting with the organisation too. As a result of using Generative AI, we were able to craft contextual prompts based on user questions and use MSE existing editorial knowledge to provide answers that were easy-to-digest, authentic and conversational in tone.

suggest

Suggest

To provide additional value to users we also developed an accompanying chatbot display which would suggest not only a digestible answer to questions but also other relevant content which may further support users needs. This aided MSE by giving it a means to engage more people with content on its website too.

test

Test

Providing high-quality service to MSE users via the chatbot was a huge priority for our team. Particularly challenging was the fact that the chatbot would be learning and evolving over time, whilst also having to deal with the unpredictable prompts and questions of users. In this instance, providing a standard Q&A function just wouldn’t cut it. To navigate these challenges our engineers assembled a suite of AI technology to allow the rapid test automation of the chatbot and continuously verify the quality of responses being provided by it.

secure

Secure

When building apps that integrate Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, there are a number of new threats that must be guarded against. Putting security front and centre, our engineering experts drew on a wealth of experience to identify new novel attacks and vulnerabilities that could be devastating for the client. The team also deployed a number of cutting edge security tools to guard against the threats of API gateway attacks, prompt injections and site scripting.

improve

Improve

xDesign always strives to build continuous improvement mechanisms into the products it delivers. MSE’s new chatbot solution was no different. We provided its editorial team with the fine-tuning tools and capabilities needed to assert control over the AI-enhanced feature if needed. This gave them the data and insight required to optimise their content and further support the community where needed.

Key outcomes

- Leveraged AI to provide MSE’s community of users with a better user experience and quicker access to money saving content that is more relevant to their bespoke needs. - Provided the MSE editorial team with the tools and insight they needed to optimise content - making it a better fit for specific user needs. - Delivered an AI-powered chatbot that protects client and user data via a suite of cutting-edge security tools.

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