AllyCo

Ever struggled to speak up in a tough situation at work or with friends? Our app helps you prepare, giving you the confidence and guidance to stand up for yourself or someone you care about.

Comment

Ally Co

Voice-first roleplay training for real-life allyship (Gemini + ElevenLabs + Next.js)

Live demo: https://allyco.vercel.app/

The problem

A lot of people genuinely want to be supportive when they see bias or harm happening, but in the moment they:

  • freeze
  • don’t know what to say
  • worry they’ll escalate things
  • or only think of the “perfect line” three hours later in the shower

Allyship is a skill. Skills get better with practice. So we built a place to practice.

What Ally Co does ?

Ally Co gives you realistic scenarios and lets you practice your response using voice roleplay, then get coaching-style feedback.

On the home page, users can choose a scenario like:

  • Gender Bias (someone gets subtly undermined in a meeting)
  • Racial Microaggressions (a “joke” crosses a line in a group setting)
  • Misgendering (wrong pronouns, then everyone moves on)

Each scenario has a mission goal, like:

  • “Back them up without escalating the room.”
  • “Address it professionally, keep dignity centered.”
  • “Correct politely and support the impacted person.”

There’s also an Open Voice Chat mode where you can talk through a real situation and get guidance.

And because dopamine is a core framework now, we added Badges & Streaks:

  • “Gender Bias Champion”
  • “Dignity Defender”
  • “Respect Advocate”

Key features

  • Voice-first practice
  • Scenario-based missions with clear goals
  • Real-time coaching feedback (focused on practical, repeatable behavior)
  • Open Voice Chat for personal situations
  • Badges + completion tracking to encourage follow-through
  • Daily Streaks to encourage people to keep coming back everyday.

Tech stack

This project is built with:

  • Next.js (frontend + app structure)
  • Gemini (LLM for roleplay + feedback)
  • ElevenLabs (voice)
  • Vercel (deployment)

The goal was a smooth loop:

  1. User speaks
  2. Model responds in-character
  3. App gives coaching feedback
  4. Repeat until it feels natural

Product philosophy: “Practice > perfection”

We tried to avoid making this feel like a lecture. The point is not “say the single correct sentence.” The point is:

  • speak up sooner
  • stay respectful
  • center the impacted person
  • keep the room from exploding

So the feedback is designed to be coaching-style, not judgmental.

Where Ally Coach can be used ?

Ally Coach is built for any place where people want to respond better in real time but don’t get to practice.

Schools and Universities

  • Orientation or first-year seminars: practice speaking up in group discussions and residence life situations
  • DEI workshops: replace passive slides with active roleplay
  • Student leaders, RAs, clubs: rehearse interventions that stay calm and respectful

Workplaces and HR training

  • Manager training and onboarding: practice addressing bias without escalating the room
  • Team culture and psychological safety programs: build “say something sooner” habits
  • Remote teams: voice-first practice for awkward Slack and meeting moments

Nonprofits and community programs

  • Volunteer training: practice responding to harm in public-facing situations
  • Youth programs: confidence-building for respectful communication under pressure

The goal is simple: practice responses before the moment happens, so people freeze less and act sooner.

What was hard (because it always is) ?

  • Latency + real-time feel: voice apps feel broken if timing is off by even a little.
  • Keeping scenarios realistic: too dramatic feels fake; too mild feels pointless.
  • Feedback that’s actionable: “be better” is useless. The app needs to tell you what to try next.

What’s next ??

If we keep building Ally Co., the next upgrades are:

  • more scenarios (workplace power dynamics, public settings, friend groups)
  • difficulty levels (gentle vs direct responses)
  • better progress tracking (strengths over time, not just completion)
  • a “replay” mode to practice alternative responses

Try it

If you’ve ever thought, “I should’ve said something,” this is for you.

Live demo: https://allyco.vercel.app/

Built With

+ 6 more
Share this project:

Updates