As 2024 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to celebrate the work we’ve accomplished together at Mozilla Support (SUMO). This year, we focused on making support resources easier to use, smarter to create, and better for everyone. From reducing users’ cognitive load to amplifying their voices through new programs, these wins are a testament to collaboration between our team, contributors, and the wider Mozilla community.
Let’s look back at the highlights.
Making support simpler for everyone
This year, we successfully kicked off the Cognitive Load Reduction initiative. The goal was clear: make Knowledge Base articles easier to follow and less mentally demanding for users. We introduced several improvements, including:
- Simplified screenshots (SUI) that focus on the interface’s key elements make it easier for users to follow instructions without getting distracted by unnecessary details.
- Inline icons and images that show users exactly what to look for without making them guess.
- Sequential step markers that guide users step-by-step through solutions.
- Animated GIFs that visually demonstrate actions for clarity.
Right now, SUI screenshots and inline icons and images are the most widely adopted updates. These visual additions have already made a noticeable difference in helping users understand and solve issues faster. Next year, we will continue expanding these improvements to reach even more articles and provide a smoother experience for everyone.
One unified taxonomy to connect the dots
Another big milestone this year was the creation and implementation of a unified taxonomy across Mozilla’s Customer Experience team. A unified taxonomy is a shared structure for classifying things — in our case, everything from knowledge base content to app store feedback and user insights.
Here’s why it matters: With this new system, we can gather consistent and meaningful data about what our users need most. Whether it’s feedback about Firefox in app stores or trends in KB article usage, we’re now able to connect the dots between different channels. This deeper understanding helps us improve Mozilla’s products and continuously refine our support resources to be more useful and relevant.
Amplifying user voices with the Voice of Customer program
This year, we launched our Voice of Customer (VoC) program to ensure the voices of our users are consistently heard across Mozilla. We’re gathering feedback from multiple channels — like app store reviews, Connect, SUMO forums, and surveys — and sharing these insights with the teams that shape Mozilla’s products and support resources
To take this program even further, we’re customizing our own Gen-AI model to help cross-check user feedback across channels. This will allow us to identify trends more effectively and ensure the insights we share are accurate and actionable. By better connecting what users are saying with what we’re building, we can make Mozilla’s products and our support efforts even more aligned with user needs.
This is an ongoing effort, and we’re excited to see its continued impact in the coming year.
AI tools that make content smarter (and more accessible)
This year, we also explored how AI can improve the way we create, update, and localize content. Two major initiatives have already begun delivering results:
Organa Oracle for content creation and review
Organa Oracle is a custom GPT model built in Mozilla’s OpenAI Workspace, specifically designed to support SUMO’s style, voice, and guidelines. It helps streamline the creation and updating of Knowledge Base articles by:
- Suggesting formats and approaches that align with SUMO guidelines.
- Recommending screenshots and generating alt text to keep articles accessible to all users.
- Reviewing drafts for clarity, tone, and consistency to ensure every article meets our standards.
For now, Organa Oracle is available only to staff, but we’re actively exploring ways to bring it and other similar tools to contributors in the future. These tools could make content creation and updates faster, easier, and even more collaborative while still reflecting the high quality and accessibility users expect from SUMO.
AI-powered L10N
At the same time, we’re using top large language models (LLMs), like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o, with carefully designed prompts to assist in the localization process. These tools are built to respect existing translations while improving consistency and efficiency, especially in locales where fewer contributors are active. This initiative is designed to fill in gaps, improve consistency, and make localization more efficient for everyone.
Here’s what’s important: contributors will always be at the heart of our localization efforts. AI-powered localization is designed to support and amplify your work, not replace it. By speeding up the process and filling in gaps, the AI will help ensure more consistent translations and give contributors more time to focus on fine-tuning and reviewing content.
Together, these AI-driven tools are helping us create smarter, more accessible content and ensure users worldwide get the support they need.
Why this matters: Mozilla’s mission in action
At Mozilla, our work is guided by the Mozilla Manifesto, a promise to build an open and accessible internet that puts people first. Every initiative we worked on this year reflects that mission:
- Reducing cognitive load makes support resources more inclusive, helping people of all skill levels solve problems with ease.
- The Voice of Customer program ensures that user feedback actively shapes Mozilla’s products and support efforts.
- Organa Oracle and our localization AI make content creation and translation faster while keeping accessibility, quality, and human collaboration at the center.
By simplifying and improving how we support users, we’re making it easier for everyone to feel confident and empowered on the web.
Thank you for an amazing year
None of this would have been possible without you, our incredible contributors, team members, and the wider Mozilla community. Your work, ideas, and feedback are what make SUMO a place where users can always find the help they need.
As we head into 2025, we are excited to keep building on this year’s progress. We will continue amplifying user voices, reducing complexity, improving accessibility, and exploring new ways to make support content even better.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Here is to another year of collaboration, growth, and making the internet better for everyone.
Let’s keep building a better web, one article at a time.