Drifters biggest upgrade yet.
Hey IH 👋
Been heads down on Drifter (a travel social app I'm building solo) and just shipped what I think is the biggest upgrade yet.
When I first launched, my AI assistant ARIA could do the basics — search flights, find hotels, build day-by-day itineraries, that kind of thing. Useful, but honestly it was just another travel chatbot. Nothing special.
This week I rebuilt her from the ground up.
What changed:
ARIA now has deep, encyclopedic knowledge of every city, town, and region on earth. Not just landmarks — actual depth:
Full history of any place (ancient origins, empires, name changes, the stuff that shaped what it feels like today)
The geography — why a city was built where it was, what it actually feels like at different times of year
Real culture and traditions, not the tourism brochure version
Architecture, food origins, neighborhood character, hidden spots
The etymology behind every place name
Ask her about Istanbul and she'll tell you about the Ottoman water system. Ask about Buenos Aires and she'll explain why San Telmo feels different from Palermo. Ask about Marrakech and she'll tell you what locals actually eat for breakfast.
She also got a personality. She's warm, fun, genuinely excited about travel. She'll say things like "okay check this out" and "you're going to LOVE this city." Because nobody wants to chat with a stiff robot.
And here's the part I'm most proud of: she's now a floating panel accessible from every single page in the app. One tap, she slides in from the right like a Comet panel. You don't have to navigate anywhere.
Underneath all that she still has the practical superpowers — live flight search, hotel comparison across all major booking sites, US State Department travel advisories, interactive maps, Google Maps directions. All in one chat.
Why I built it this way:
The whole point of Drifter is "travel like a local." The locals piece is the human side — connecting with real people who live in your destination. ARIA is the knowledge side — the friend who's been everywhere, read the history, walked every street, and can't wait to tell you about it.
Together they cover what Google Maps and TripAdvisor never will.
Try it free: https://drifter--brnpoor.replit.app
It's a PWA so you can install it on mobile too.
Would love feedback from this crowd — especially:
Does ARIA's personality feel right or too much?
Is the floating panel discoverable enough, or should I add an onboarding hint?
What city should I ask her about to really test her? Throw something obscure at her, I want to see where her knowledge breaks.
Cheers 🌍
