Development of a personalized gamified mobile learning app using an AI-based virtual assistant for financial literacy

<title>Abstract</title> This study presents the implementation of a mobile application that integrates gamification and artificial intelligence to strengthen financial literacy in college students. The proposed solution combines a user-centered approach, educational and structured content, and interactive challenges, integrating a virtual assistant powered by Gemini AI. The application is composed of three stages: an initial diagnostic assessment, gamified challenges, and a final assessment. The system offers personalized feedback, financial topics with levels of difficulty, and a system of achievements and rewards, which seeks to enhance engagement and learning outcomes. The development stage was carried out under the Scrum framework over eight sprints, where Unity and FastAPI were used for frontend and backend development, respectively. On the other hand, usability and user experience were evaluated using two instruments: the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). The results obtained from the tests with 50 university students show a high usability (SUS = 91.9) and a positive experience in all the dimensions evaluated by the UEQ, which confirms the effectiveness of the application. This work contributes to the field of educational technologies by providing a scalable and validated architecture for financial education through mobile learning.