AI Moderators: How We're Reshaping the Interview Experience
At MDRG, we're always exploring innovative methodologies to deliver deeper insights for our clients. Our latest advancement? Changing how participants engage with qualitative research through AI-moderated interviews. We partnered with Outset.ai to conduct a series of AI-moderated interviews followed by feedback sessions with seven respondents.
Outset is a platform that conducts AI-moderated interviews via text, audio, or video. We recently ran an internal research project using this method. We conducted seven interviews with an AI moderator and recorded video: participants read prompts on the screen and responded verbally, encouraging rich responses free from the judgment of a human moderator. Our experience using Outset.ai confirms our excitement about this game-changing approach.
Creating a Judgment-Free Zone
Our traditional moderators are experts at creating comfortable environments, but even the most skilled professionals can inadvertently influence responses through subtle facial expressions or tone. Using an AI moderation platform eliminates this dynamic.
One participant told us:
"It's kind of easier, rather than talking to an actual person... sometimes if you answer, the tone of their voice might mean that maybe you don't answer it properly. AI is easier because the questions are right there in text, and I'm actually looking at somebody or listening to the tone of their voice to see if I've done anything right or wrong."
This absence of social pressure creates a uniquely candid research environment - something we're particularly excited about for sensitive research topics where traditional methodologies often struggle to overcome social desirability bias.
This bias occurs when respondents answer questions in a way that presents them in a favorable light, even if it means distorting their true thoughts, feelings, or behaviors, exaggerating positives, and downplaying negatives to make a good impression.
Efficiency That Benefits Everyone
We respect our clients' tight timelines and budgets, and Outset helps us with this. Outset’s AI moderation platform allows us to complete fieldwork significantly faster while maintaining deep responses and quality (on a larger scale, too).
Meeting respondents where they’re at brings better results, too, as one participant pragmatically observed:
"I would definitely participate in these because it's probably easier to get into and I can just run these anytime as opposed to having to schedule a Zoom call with a live person, so I think it is probably more efficient."
This efficiency creates a better experience for participants, leading to higher completion rates and more engaged responses. Reducing participant burden translates directly to richer data for our clients.
The Quality of Conversation
While our AI platform structures conversations slightly differently than human moderators, participants have been overwhelmingly positive about the experience. Many report feeling heard and understood - a testament to our carefully designed interview protocols.
A respondent shared this powerful feedback:
"I'm more inclined to interact with an AI-moderated interview. Honestly, at the end of the interview, I feel understood. I feel like I had a very deep conversation and I'm glad about it."
We've been particularly impressed with how our AI moderator handles sensitive topics. Another participant revealed:
"About the test I got about my pregnancy and the issues that we are going about, yeah, I felt safer sharing with the AI more than compared to a human."
These testimonials validate what our research team has suspected: for specific topics, removing human judgment creates a safer space for authentic disclosure.
Consistent Quality Across Every Interview
One challenge of traditional qualitative research is maintaining consistency across different moderators or even the same moderator across multiple days. Using Outset’s AI platform delivers perfectly consistent moderation for every participant.
A millennial female researcher who participated noted:
"It felt pretty efficient. I felt like I could ask and answer. It didn't feel unnatural at all. It felt like a typical 'okay, answer the next question.' I didn't feel like there was anything I wanted to say that I didn't say."
This consistency gives our clients greater confidence in the patterns and insights we identify, even though we don't personally moderate each one.
The Verdict From Participants
Perhaps the most telling feedback comes from this millennial participant who summed up her experience:
"I just thought it was super simple and easy and quick. It just felt natural and not cumbersome at all. So from the respondent's experience, I think it was pretty like five out of five, you know?"
At MDRG, we're excited to offer this innovative methodology as part of our comprehensive qualitative toolkit. By combining cutting-edge technology with our decades of research expertise, we're delivering deeper insights, faster, without sacrificing the human understanding that drives meaningful business decisions.
When to Choose AI Moderation for Your Next Project
While we continue to offer traditional human moderation for projects, partnering with Outset’s AI platform has proven particularly valuable for specific research challenges:
- Sensitive topic exploration where participants benefit from reduced judgment
- Global research requiring interviews across multiple time zones and languages
- Projects with tight timelines that can't accommodate traditional interview scheduling constraints
- Studies requiring large qualitative samples where consistency is paramount
- Topics where social desirability bias typically skews responses
Our team expertly designs the AI interview guide, analyzes the resulting data with the same rigor as our traditional qualitative work, and delivers insights with actionable recommendations.
The biggest difference? A more comfortable participant experience, faster fieldwork completion, and often more candid responses.
Ready to explore how AI moderation could enhance your next research project? Contact our team today to learn more about our approach and how it might benefit your specific research objectives.
Topics from this blog: Market Research Qualitative Research