What are User Research Tools?

User research tools, also known as UX research software, are leveraged by businesses to gather feedback from customers on the overall user experience. User research is conducted for product prototypes, website usability testing and functionality, mobile app functionality, and other customer and user experiences. During these user feedback sessions, businesses gather key insights into where their product is performing well, where there are gaps, and areas for improvement. UX research platforms can provide a few different research methods and feedback tools. Many solutions facilitate customer testing by providing access to a recruitment pool of candidates who are willing to test functionalities throughout the customer journey. Companies select the demographic criteria of the persons they would like to test their product. Test user candidates are selected by age, gender, geographic location, and other criteria. Once a test user candidate is chosen, companies select exactly what functions or features they want the user to test. This ranges from something as simple as how easy it is to check out an item on an online store to how a customer might feel about a new brand marketing campaign. During the research process, the respondent completes a screen-recorded session and provides real-time feedback to the business. User research software allows businesses to conduct these virtual focus groups and gather valuable user insights remotely. As an alternative to live sessions, many user research software solutions allow test users to complete the tasks on their own time and send the completed video recording on a deadline specified by the business sending out the test. Instead of live or pre-recorded feedback sessions, some user research tools allow businesses to intercept active website visitors or app users to capture in-the-moment feedback about the customer journey. These products more commonly offer features for respondents to submit text-based feedback and screenshots when they encounter bugs within a product or areas of frustration.

What are the Common Features of User Research Tools?

User research tools offer a variety of features to help businesses select research participants, collect qualitative and quantitative data, and collaborate on research with different stakeholders within the organization. Participant selection: UX research platforms offer varying methods for recruiting and selecting research participants. Some vendors have a proprietary database or recruitment pool of participants, while others provide features for intercepting users browsing a website or using a mobile application. Usability tests: One of the core features of user research software is the ability to provide live video user testing. This feature allows the business and customer to connect over a live video stream and show the business in real time how the test user navigates a website. During the live session, test users ask the business questions that may help uncover more valuable insights for the business. Video conferencing: User interviews are another core functionality for most user research tools. One-on-one video conferencing allows businesses to speak directly with participants and conduct more in-depth qualitative research. Surveys: Text-based surveys or quizzes can be used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data related to user experiences. With surveys, users may be asked to rate certain features or provide feedback in an open text field. Test plan: Businesses set a plan that they would like the test user to follow throughout the test. This is a set of tasks that a user must complete by the end of the test. This allows businesses to focus on the most relevant user feedback that they’re looking for. Self tests: Self tests are a good option for users that feel more comfortable completing the tests on their own time and not on video. With self-tests, businesses send over a link to the test with instructions and a deadline, and then users complete the test at their comfort. Mobile functionality: Testing mobile applications is equally as important as testing desktop functionality. For this reason, the user research software a company selects must support the types of mobile devices needed. Notes and collaboration tools: Notes and tagging are both important features in user research software that allow users to collaborate with other stakeholders on a team. Within a recorded video, users tag teammates at relevant specified times. If it is a development issue, product managers may tag a developer, or if it’s a marketing issue, product managers can tag a marketing team member. Other features of User Testing Software: In-App Capabilities, On-Site Capabilities, Photo Submission, Video Snippet Submission

What are the Benefits of User Research Tools?

User research platforms allow businesses to better understand how users experience the customer journey. This gives businesses a better context as to how they might improve website design, marketing and branding, and the overall product they’re offering. Unbiased perspective: Most employees at a company understand the basic functionality and usability of their website. Since they use it every day, most functions are second nature to them and they understand how to navigate the site to find what they want. For this reason, a business’s employees are often not the most objective test subjects for understanding how a site or product can be more functional. The best test user is an unfamiliar, unbiased person who navigates a website for the very first time and provides a fresh take on what needs to be improved. Save money: Live, in-person user testing costs businesses a great deal of money. User research solutions provide the same user feedback a company would garner from in-person testing but at a fraction of the cost since the tests are conducted virtually and are generally cheaper to carry out.

Best User Research Tools with Survey Capabilities

User Interviews

User Interviews, now part of UserTesting, makes it fast, easy, and affordable to recruit participants for 🧑‍💻 user research, 📊 market research, and 🤖 AI training. With 7 million participants, precise matching, and fraud prevention, we can reliably fill any research study. Connect with the right people in any niche, whether your target audience is consumers, B2B professionals, or domain experts needed for model training. Source, screen, track and pay participants, then move seamlessly from data collection to deep analysis, all in one place. Our flexible platform and powerful integrations make it easy for enterprises, technology partners, and agency teams to run any kind of research with confidence. Get started at for free at https://www.userinterviews.com. HOW IT WORKS: 1. RECRUIT PARTICIPANTS: Create hybrid panels of users and prospects for fast, easy recruitment. We can source qualified participants with more speed, precision, and scale than any other panel provider because of our extensive network and advanced matching system. 2. AUTOMATE WORKFLOWS: Source, screen, schedule, track, and pay participants, all in one place. Eliminate recruitment busywork with workflow automations and integrations with popular research and productivity tools. 3. ANALYZE INSIGHTS: Accelerate time to insight with session transcripts, traceable observations, highlight reels, and deep dive analysis, all powered by AI. 4. GOVERN RESEARCH: Run a world-class research practice as the work of customer understanding becomes distributed. Our platform helps you keep a global record of research activity and automate compliance with your team’s standards. User Interviews is built for research, product, and AI teams who do frequent, collaborative research.

Average Rating: 4.6/5.0

Total Reviews: 681

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How Do G2 Users Rate User Interviews?

Ease of Use: 9.0/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10)
Sorting: 6.7/10 (Category avg: 8.4/10)
In-App: 6.9/10 (Category avg: 8.3/10)
On-Site: 6.0/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10)

Who Is the Company Behind User Interviews?

Seller: UserTesting
Company Website:
Year Founded: 2007
HQ Location: San Francisco, CA
Twitter: @usertesting
42,832 Twitter followers
LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
1,876 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

Who Uses This: UX Researcher, Project Manager
Top Industries: Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
Company Size: 57% Small, 23% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About User Interviews?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros

Users find User Interviews incredibly easy to use, facilitating seamless collaboration and efficient participant recruitment.
Users highlight the responsive customer support of User Interviews, enhancing their overall experience and efficiency.
Users appreciate the quick and effective recruitment of User Interviews, streamlining their research process significantly.
Users value the high quality and reliability of participants in User Interviews, enhancing feedback integrity and confidence.
Users value the convenient scheduling feature of User Interviews, enhancing their research session management seamlessly.

Cons

Users face significant survey issues due to fraudulent participants and inadequacies in the participant screening process.
Users find the limited customization options frustrating, hindering efficient study setup and participant management.
Users find the UI slow and overly complex, hindering ease of use and survey creation efficiency.
Users face recruitment issues due to quotas, high costs, and fraudulent participants, impacting study integrity and efficiency.
Users are frustrated by complicated UX improvements, making essential features inefficient and leading to potential switch to competitors.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of User Interviews?

"My first 'go to' for all my recruiting needs!"

Rating: 5.0/5.0 stars

— Candice M.

Product	Best for	User Review
User Interviews 4.6/5(1,047)	Participant recruitment with self-selection and scheduling	"A fun and easy way to make a difference."
UserTesting 4.4/5(791)	Rapid unmoderated usability testing with panel recruitment	"UserTesting Makes Gathering Genuine Feedback Fast and Simple"
Dscout 4.5/5(190)	Mobile diary studies with video-rich participant feedback	"Best-in-Class Qualitative Recruitment with an Intuitive, Feature-Rich Platform"
Discuss 4.7/5(284)	Moderated interviews with client backroom and AI analysis	"The best virtual Qual platform on the market"
Qualtrics Market Research 4.4/5(3,018)	Complex survey logic with integrated dashboards	"Very useful for Wellness Surveys, Feedback Collection and Research Work"
Lyssna 4.5/5(185)	Rapid unmoderated prototype testing with Figma	"Lyssna is the perfect tool to quickly get valuable research on UX Designs"
Hotjar by Contentsquare 4.3/5(345)	Visual behavior tracking with session recordings	"Hotjar Makes Understanding User Behavior Fast and Intuitive"

Best User Research Tools with Survey Capabilities

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G2 Deal: Get 3 Free Research Participants!

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