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Your idea for an AI-powered recipe app that identifies dishes from photos and provides recipes falls into a crowded space. We found around 20 similar products, which indicates high competition. The IDEA CATEGORY is "Swamp", which means the market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. The average engagement (3 comments) for these similar products is low, suggesting that it's hard to stand out. Given this landscape, launching yet another general-purpose recipe app might be challenging. To succeed, you'll need a compelling differentiator and a strategy to capture user attention in a market filled with similar offerings. Don't get discouraged, but the advice is: don't build it, unless...

Recommendations

1. First, deeply analyze why existing AI recipe apps haven't achieved widespread adoption. Read user reviews, identify pain points, and understand what's missing in the current solutions. For example, many competing products received feedback about image accuracy, recipe testing and the tastiness of the recipes. Address these key issues in your app. Look at the criticism summaries of similar products to get more granular info.
2. Instead of targeting everyone, identify a niche audience with specific dietary needs, cultural preferences, or cooking skill levels. For example, you could focus on creating recipes for people with allergies, specific ethnic cuisines, or beginner cooks. The similar app 'Granny cooks for me' received a comment asking about Keto/Vegan support, so consider these diets as a good starting point for niche support.
3. Consider building AI-powered tools for chefs, restaurants, or food bloggers, instead of a direct-to-consumer recipe app. These tools could help them create new recipes, optimize existing ones, or generate content for their audiences. Collaborate with existing content creators, i.e. instead of competing with them.
4. Explore adjacent problems that might be more promising. For example, you could develop an AI-powered tool that helps people plan their meals based on their dietary needs, budget, and available ingredients. The similar app 'Fridgeraider' received positive feedback due to the 'AI-assisted cooking and recipe generation using ChatGPT'.
5. Given the crowded market and the challenges of standing out, it might be wise to save your energy and resources for a better opportunity. Consider exploring other ideas that align with your interests and skills but have less competition and more potential for growth.

Questions

1. What is the core, unique value proposition that differentiates your AI recipe app from the many existing solutions, and how will you effectively communicate this to potential users?
2. How will you address the common criticisms and concerns raised by users of similar apps, such as recipe accuracy, tastiness, and dietary customization, to ensure a superior user experience?
3. Given the low average engagement observed in similar products, what specific marketing and user acquisition strategies will you employ to attract and retain users in a competitive market?