What are user funnels?

User funnels represent the multi-step journey users take through a product or service, typically visualized as a narrowing path from initial awareness -> consideration → intent → final conversion. In digital products, these funnels track how users progress through key actions like signing up, engaging with features, or completing purchases. Each stage of the funnel shows the percentage of users who continue to the next step, helping teams understand where users drop off.

The concept originates from traditional sales and marketing, where the wide top of the funnel represents all potential customers, while the narrow bottom shows those who complete desired actions. Product teams can use funnel analysis to optimize user experience by identifying bottlenecks, streamlining workflows, and improving conversion rates.

Modern product analytics tools automatically capture and visualize these user journeys, enabling teams to measure success at each stage. This data-driven approach reveals exactly where users encounter friction, allowing teams to make targeted improvements rather than relying on guesswork.^[1]