Duolingo, founded in 2011, has achieved success with 34 million daily active users by making education free and fun through gamification.
The app's gamification features like streaks, XP points, and leaderboards have driven user retention, with users 3x more likely to return daily when streaks are active.
Duolingo's AI personalization features, like Lilly the conversational AI, adapt to user skill levels offering real-time feedback in 40+ languages and have shown a 30% improvement in learning outcomes.
The six-step framework for product managers to gamify user engagement advises to prioritize user trust and emotional connection, and leverage platforms like BadgeOS and AWS Personalize for implementation.