How Accessible Creation Tools Can Define the Next Chapter of AR

The next wave of AR will be shaped by the people who create, not just those who code.

I have been working in the AR industry since 2011 and it wasn't until Pokemon Go came onto the scene that AR finally received the prominence we have been expecting. However, with the arrival of ARKit and ARCore, things took an even bigger turn. Apple, and now Google, have unleashed tech for developers to start demonstrating what they can do, and so far it seems the possibilities are endless.

A Twitter account, @madewithARKit, has sprung up dedicated to showing the world what can be achieved; from gimmicky examples such as a portal into an A-Ha music video or shooting Space Invaders, to genuinely useful tools such as measuring the dimensions of your kitchen or finding the exact location of a friend.

The creativity that I've seen has been impressive, but one thing has stood out: this work was achieved by developers. Whilst the technology may now be accessible, the creation process remains complex, and without code, users still hit a wall long before they can produce anything more compelling.

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Expectations Have Been Raised, Without Addressing Capability

Demos such as WingnutAR which was unveiled at WWDC have raised expectations for what AR should look like. But for the average user, that level of polish feels out of reach.

Until recently, AR experiences were coded by developers or built by creative teams using in-house tools. The shift to self-service platforms was meant to change that, lowering the barrier for entry and empowering non-technical creators. It has helped, but only up to a point.

A BBC article on AR in football programmes captured the reality perfectly. The author described how a lecturer used free web tools to create trigger images that played student videos through a smartphone app. It was a clever use case, but it also showed how user-generated AR often stops at video overlays.

Self-authoring tools are often free to use, but the market is starting to become saturated with content that fails to push the realms of possibility. The result is a growing gap between developer-led and user-generated content. The first group pushes creative boundaries. The second produces simpler, more repetitive experiences. Without a way to move past that plateau, user creativity stalls, and AR adoption risks slowing too.

The next step is not more features, but more accessible ways to use them.

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Learning the Lessons from Mainstream Software

If the AR industry wants better content, it should look at the software that made creativity accessible to everyone.

Take PowerPoint, for example. Since its launch in 1990, it has enabled non-technical users to design functional, attractive presentations. Over time, features like animations and transitions gave people the confidence to be creative without deep training. PowerPoint succeeded because it allowed users to achieve something beautiful and useful without stepping far outside their comfort zone.

AR now needs its own version of PowerPoint; a tool that supports every level of creator and makes immersive storytelling achievable for all. However, AR platforms do not have decades to evolve. They must apply the same lessons around usability, feedback, and gradual skill-building much faster.

That is where gamification can help.

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Gamifying the Creative Process

Gamification has proven to be an effective way to guide learning and encourage progress.

A good example comes from DevHub, an online platform that turned website creation into a game. By rewarding users with badges (known as Devatars) for completing tasks, DevHub saw project completion rates rise from 10 per cent to 80 per cent.

Encouraging users to build content with aspects of the platform they may have missed would work well for AR providers. For example, users should be rewarded for implementing new ways of creating AR content into their workflow by unlocking a feature. In doing so, users would be encouraged to build more compelling AR experiences, driven by the desire to get access to the next feature, with each new feature subsequently improving their AR content.

However, I am aware that although this staggered approach to releasing features may encourage participation, it would not necessarily result in an understanding of how to use each feature to its full potential. The struggle is therefore how to highlight potential features to the user, whilst understanding when it is the right time for these features to be introduced. My suggested approach therefore wouldn’t work without trusty tool-tips.

Teaching Creators as They Build

Gamification alone is not enough. Once a user unlocks a new feature, they must understand how to use it. This is where tooltips come in.

Tooltips act as mini-lessons within the creative flow. After unlocking a feature, the user could see a short suggestion on how to apply it effectively. Once they try that approach, a new tip appears showing another use case. The experience becomes an ongoing tutorial that teaches through doing, not reading.

By guiding creators through incremental discovery, the tool itself becomes the teacher. It shortens the learning curve and turns curiosity into confidence.

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Why Accessible Creation Tools Matters for the Future of AR

ARKit and ARCore have done their job of generating excitement and showing what is possible. But sustaining that excitement depends on creators, not coders.

If AR creation tools remain too technical, non-developers will continue to produce only simple content, and the industry will lose momentum. By offering accessible creation tools that gamify and embed learning into the workflow, AR platforms can help anyone create something engaging, not just functional.

For AR to truly thrive, the ability to create must be as accessible as the ability to consume. Empowering non-technical creators is how we make that happen.

If you are leading a startup or scaling a product team that is building tools, whether for technical users or not, let’s talk. I help founders and product leaders design frameworks that turn emerging technology into tools people actually use. Reach out at info@crwburgess.com.