Hungryroot Founder Launches Every App to Foster Deeper Human Connections

Hungryroot CEO Ben McKean launched "Every," an AI-powered tool to improve self-relationships and social connections.

Every is an iOS app that uses AI to create fun and thought-provoking games that encourage self-discovery and human connection. It is currently run as a non-profit company.

As an illustration, people can start their journeys with a game named "Inner Odyssey." In this Every game, players are asked to choose a snapshot of a location they'd like to explore before answering more questions about their preferences. Users can find common ground with their connections by playing an app that indicates how others have answered similar questions.

Many felt disconnected during the COVID-19 pandemic, which inspired McKean's Every. He pointed out that 58% of Americans said they did not feel that people in their lives understood them well, and 70% said they thought mistrust was harming American society. McKean, who has had trouble making connections in his business endeavors, sees applying Every's concept to the workplace as a way to strengthen working relationships, per TechCrunch.

Boost Self-Awareness via AI

Surprisingly, artificial intelligence is used to construct Every's games, notably sophisticated language models and software from OpenAI and Midjourney. Every day, a new game will be made available on the app with a different topic, such as careers, fun, family ties, spirituality, or philosophy.

Every app provides motivational content based on user feedback after playtime, including films on following your dreams and being creative. An additional tab in the app called "Map" uses AI to create a map of user qualities based on gaming points.

Using Tech to Improve Lives

Ben McKean's main company, Hungryroot, an AI-driven healthy grocery and recipe service, has experienced rapid expansion, with YoY sales increasing by 67% in the first half of 2023. In the upcoming year, Hungryroot is well-positioned for sustained profitable development, per Cision.

Last month's GroceryShop conference focused on AI. During the event, McKean noted that Hungryfoot has been using it since 2019 but they did not call it AI back then since it was not the keyword. According to Winsight Grocery Business, he noted that their AI-driven shopping list system uses "large-scale constrained optimization algorithms." These algorithms solve constrained problems well. If a consumer is vegan, the system guarantees they will only receive vegan items to avoid mistakes. It also prohibits out-of-stock or inventory-limited products from being added to carts, addressing system restrictions.