At Motives we’ve been running AI-moderated video interviews for the past year, and are frequently asked by clients: 'What kinds of research work best with AI moderation?’

It's a great question, and one we've thought deeply about. Having seen AI moderators in action across countless projects, we've developed a clear picture of where they excel - and where traditional human moderation remains the better choice.

Note that in particular, here we’re referring to an AI moderator conducting a video call with a participant - the type of interview that re-creates the experience of in-depth personal interview, with the participant and the AI speaking out loud so that the participant is engaging in a real conversation with the AI moderator. There are a number of other tools that offer text chat-first interviews, which serve a different purpose.

Where AI Moderators Excel

Time-Critical Research

Speed is one of the key benefits of AI moderation. AI moderators can conduct multiple interviews simultaneously, dramatically compressing research timelines and without sacrificing depth or quality. When combined with AI analysis you can get truly rapid insights - we recently completed an entire study for a retail client in just 2 days, which they expected would have taken a month with their traditional approach.

Sensitive Topics

One of our most interesting findings has been participants' openness with AI moderators during sensitive discussions.

As one participant noted during a study about a sensitive personal finance topic, “the AI moderator is very much preferable to interacting with a live person for something like this. It was very relaxing, and I felt free to say whatever without having anybody judge me”.

Another told us during a study about a sensitive health issue, “I felt able to be more honest because it was an AI interviewer.”

This pattern holds across various sensitive topics, from financial habits to personal care routines.

Demographic Versatility

The effectiveness of AI moderation across different demographic groups often surprises our clients.

We sometimes hear clients expect that an AI moderator might only be a good fit for digitally native young people, but we’ve found it to be very versatile across age groups. We recently ran a study with participants over the age of 70, who all found it to be a positive experience - check out some of the feedback we got from them:

  • I felt that I could more open and speak in a more straightforward manner, because I didn’t feel like the AI had to like my personality. (71 year old)
  • I found this interview really natural, actually. (78 year old)
  • The AI put me at ease, so I found it very pleasant and I had no issue in having the conversation. (73 year old)

Another advantage of leveraging an AI moderator is that the affordability and speed means that you can do research across more demographics and personas than was previously possible - getting a more comprehensive view of different market segments.

International research

International research becomes dramatically simpler with AI moderation. Instead of coordinating multiple local research agencies or flying moderators around the globe, a single AI moderator can conduct interviews in multiple languages while maintaining consistent quality.

We've run simultaneous studies across markets as diverse as Mexico, Malaysia, and Germany - without the usual headaches of time zone coordination or lost nuance through translation. All interviews are run in the participants local language to get the most depth, but the results and transcripts are translated back into English so you can easily incorporate them in your decisions.

Remote Research

For research that requires looking into people's homes or daily routines, AI moderators have proven remarkably effective. Participants are increasingly comfortable giving AI-led virtual home tours or sharing their daily routines, leading to rich ethnographic insights without the logistical challenges of in-person visits.

Repetitive and Systematic Research

AI moderators truly shine when consistency and systematic exploration are crucial. They excel at:

  • Testing multiple variations (like running 10 different product description tests)
  • Conducting regular customer pulse checks
  • Following up systematically on specific topics
  • Ensuring every hypothesis gets explored in each session

The AI never gets tired, never forgets to ask a key question, and maintains the same level of curiosity from the first interview to the last.

When to Stick with Human Moderators

Physical Presence Required

Some research scenarios simply need a human presence. These include:

  • Watching how people interact in a physical space, like following shoppers through a store to understand their shopping journey or interviewing travellers in an airport
  • Testing physical prototypes where handling and immediate reaction are crucial
  • Trying out food and beverage concepts where the participants need to be able to try the new flavor

Robots and/or clever logistics solutions will make it possible for AI to do tests like this in the future - but for now best to go with a human moderator.

"Research" That's Actually Relationship Building

Sometimes, research serves a dual purpose.

For instance, when a B2B software company conducts user feedback sessions, they're often not just seeking insights - they're also building relationships that could lead to expanded partnerships.

If you’re a startup founder working closely with your first beta clients, or a product manager at software company selling to a handful of senior executives at B2B enterprises, it’s probably best to show up to those feedback sessions yourself.

High-stakes senior interviews

Our AI moderator has proven its worth with a number of B2B interviews, but we don’t recommend it for especially senior participants - like if you need to interview some CFOs of Fortune 500 companies.

In that case, some of the main advantages of the AI aren’t relevant: the speed will be constrained by the participant’s schedule anyway, and you have to pay so much for the participant to even do the call (typically $1,000+) that the cost savings from using an AI interviewer wouldn’t make a material difference.

That said, the AI moderator has an advantage for participants too: they can do the interview anytime they like, no scheduling required. And we constantly hear from participants that they enjoy the experience at least as much or more as a traditional human-moderated interview, so other than the very most senior people, most B2B use cases work well. We’ve recently done projects interviewing lawyers, accountants, engineers, and marketing teams.

Making the move to AI moderation

AI moderation isn't just a viable option for qualitative research - it's often the better choice. Whether you need insights at speed, want to conduct research at scale, or are looking to get more honest feedback on sensitive topics, AI interviews can transform your research capability.

While there are specific scenarios where human moderators make more sense (like physical store walk-throughs or relationship-building sales conversations), the majority of qualitative research projects could benefit from AI moderation.

Ready to see AI-led research in action? Get in touch for a demo, and we'll show you how it could work for your next research project.

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