The Hook Model in One Loop

A habit is a behavior done with little or no conscious thought. Products that reach habit status win a structural advantage: they get used without marketing spend, defend against competitors, and can charge more, because users return on autopilot rather than by persuasion.

Eyal's claim is that habit-forming products aren't accidents. They run users through a repeatable four-step loop, the Hook: a trigger prompts an action, the action earns a variable reward, and the user then invests something back into the product, which loads the next trigger.

One pass through the loop does nothing. Habits form through repeated cycles, each one strengthening the association between the user's moment of need and your product, until reaching for it stops being a decision.