Photo credit: Nissara Shah

An iPhone screen displays the teen-focused AI app Koil, which blends personalized guidance with images of hobbies and interests. This reflects the platforms mission to help high schoolers explore their future paths. “Koil is built to address the challenges teens face,” Sarah Kraft said, “by offering not just a social platform, but also the resources and support they need to thrive.”

The path ahead isn’t always clear, and many teens face constant uncertainty. Figuring out what comes next can feel challenging and overwhelming.

Koil is an app designed to help high school students set goals, explore careers and navigate personal growth. Developed by Sarah Kraft and Jackson Howard, it combines AI advice and community-based features. The inspiration behind creating Koil came from recognizing the challenges teens face today.

“We always liked the idea of having a name that implied some kind of connectivity. Koil kind of fun because it is continuous, but so implies some kind of connection. So together its continuous connection,” Kraft said. “As we’ve gone forward, we think of it more like we’re helping teens identify a path in life that feels well defined, structured, continuous, flows and makes sense for them. They can build on it with their peers.”

When I first tried Koil, I was impressed by how simple the app was to use. Right after signing up, the app asked me about my interests and goals, making the experience feel personal from the start. From there, multiple articles came up with resources that matched what I shared covering a wide range of topics. Some other features included bookmarking articles to save for later, submitting your own articles and efficiently categorizing tabs like career, finance and education. When trying the AI tool, I was able to research information, learn new things and get helpful advice on setting goals. Kraft described the specific challenges the app aims to address for its users.

“We realized that high schoolers specifically are just feeling a lot more pressure than ever before to sort of figure out what to do with your life at such an early age,” Kraft said. “We really just try to recognize that there’s nobody out there, no other platform we’ve found that really tries to take them seriously and just give them a really cool piece of technology that works with them.” 

As a high school student, I understand how overwhelming it can be balance grades, extracurriculars and social life. Koil is a tool that helps tackle those challenges and makes balancing school and personal goals feel more manageable. The AI feature doesn’t push you toward any particular path but instead offers resources and advice that feel relevant to your own situation. This made it easier to think things through at my own pace without feeling added stress.

The Oracle sent out a survey to 503 Archer students, and 55 responded. Of those most were unfamiliar with Koil, but expressed interest in using a tool like it. While some students said they use apps like Google Calendar or ChatGPT for personal growth, most do not use any. Over 80% of respondents wanted support with goal setting, career planning and connecting with others. Half of respondents felt that school offers limited help with future planning, and 61% said having a safe, teen-only space in an app would be valuable.

Looking at the survey results, what stood out to me wasn’t just the interest in an app like Koil, but how many students said they don’t really use anything at all to help with future planning.

Balancing school, extracurriculars and everyday responsibilities can make it hard to find time or energy to focus on those things. High school comes with many expectations — staying organized, figuring out your future path, whether that’s college, a career or which extracurriculars to focus on — but it’s not always clear where to start. Using Koil made me realize how little time I usually spend thinking about these things in a focused way. Having everything in one place, without it feeling like school or another assignment, helped me create and plan goals more seriously.

I believe having a teen-only space is really important because it offers a sense of safety and understanding that can be hard to find elsewhere. It allows teens to share honestly and connect without feeling judged by adults or others who don’t relate.

“I think that the hardest thing in life … is figuring out who you are authentically. What does that mean? We have to make some of those decisions so early on and it’s scary,” Kraft said. “So having just a little bit more help in that process is really what I think inspires me every day.”

The app’s simple design made it easy for me to explore and think about my future. I also liked that it’s a teen-only space where people can be honest but also get inspired. Koil’s mix of tech and community made it feel like a supportive tool for students navigating their futures at their own pace.