I built an AI-powered user guidance tool that replaces Pendo/Appcues/WalkMe. One script tag install. No manual flow authoring.

  The core design principle: observe the DOM, never require host cooperation. The AI reads disabled buttons, aria-disabled attributes, locked classes, hidden
  elements — everything the app already shows. Zero config from the host app beyond the script tag.

  How it works:

  1. You add <script>ActivationKit('init', { apiKey: '...' });</script>
  2. The SDK extracts your page structure (elements, roles, sections, navigation) using a DOM extractor
  3. An AI enrichment pass builds a product schema from the extraction
  4. When a user asks a question or needs help, a three-tier decision pipeline handles it:
    - Tier 1 — Rules (<10ms): 12 deterministic rules (welcome nudge, idle help, form abandonment, feature discovery, etc.)
    - Tier 2 — Cache (<50ms): Context-hash keyed response cache with quality scoring
    - Tier 3 — LLM (500-2000ms): GPT-4o-mini with structured JSON output, only called when rules and cache miss

  ~70% of requests resolve without touching the LLM.

  The feature I'm most excited about: on-demand tour generation. If a user asks "give me a tour of the wallet features" and no pre-built tour exists, the LLM
  generates 3-5 step tours inline from the page's known elements. The SDK renders them immediately. No manual authoring, works for any page, any topic.

  Architecture decisions:
  - Shadow DOM (closed mode) for CSS isolation — the widget never breaks the host app's styles
  - Hono on Fly.io (not Vercel) — SSE needs long-lived connections
  - TypeScript monorepo (SDK + API + Dashboard)
  - Neon Postgres with pgvector for semantic element retrieval
  - SDK is 30KB gzipped, vanilla JS, framework-agnostic

  What's different from existing tools:
  - Pendo/Appcues/Chameleon require you to manually build every tooltip flow. ActivationKit generates guidance automatically.
  - WalkMe costs $50K+/yr. ActivationKit is $29/mo.
  - CommandBar (only real AI competitor) was acquired by Amplitude in 2024. Their roadmap is frozen.

  Pricing: Free plan (25 conv/mo), upgrade anytime. Pro $29/mo, Business $99/mo.

  Stack: TypeScript, Hono, Next.js 15, Neon Postgres, GPT-4o-mini, Fly.io, Vercel. 437 tests + 6 Playwright E2E.

  Looking for feedback, especially from anyone who's struggled with Pendo/Appcues maintenance overhead. What would make you switch?

  https://activationkit.com