Concept testing platform with AI-moderated interviews
Usercall is a concept testing platform that runs AI-moderated voice interviews with real people. Each person reacts to one product, pack, claim, message or ad. The AI asks why when an answer is thin.
It is for brand and agency teams who need the why in people's own words this week. Each person sees one concept per interview, so it works like a monadic test in practice. You get the reasons, not only a score.
Proof at scale: a research agency ran a campaign concept test with us, 90 interviews across 7 markets in one week, recruiting included. Long, text-heavy routes were rejected early and short, product-led lines won. Read the case.
Most teams start with the standard Consumer Interview Sprint.
Usercall at a glance
Usercall is a self-serve AI-moderated interview platform. An AI moderator runs one-to-one voice interviews with real people, and every theme links back to the quotes behind it.
- Real people, AI moderator. Every participant is a real person. Only the interviewer is AI.
One concept per interview, so the reason is not lost in a single score.
Usercall at a glance for concept tests
- 15-30+ interviews, with results back in 48 to 72 hours.
- 50+ languages. Every plan includes every language.
- From $89 a month (starting monthly plan).
- Your first interview is free.
- We can recruit participants for you, or you can bring your own.
Usercall vs Zappi, Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey for concept tests
Usercall runs concept tests as AI-moderated interviews. Zappi, Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey run them as surveys.
| Tool | Method | What you get back | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usercall | AI-moderated voice interviews. Each person sees one concept and talks it through. | Themes for each concept, the quotes behind each theme, and the audio and transcript of every interview. | From $89 a month (starting monthly plan). First interview free. |
| Zappi | Survey-based concept and ad testing with a set framework and benchmarks. | Scored survey results against its benchmarks. | Quote-based. Subscriptions plus credit bundles, no public price. |
| Qualtrics | Enterprise survey platform. Concept testing runs as a survey program, monadic or sequential monadic. | Survey results and dashboards. | Quote-based ("Request pricing"). |
| SurveyMonkey | General DIY survey tool. You design the concept test yourself. | Survey responses. Panel responses are sold separately. | Team Advantage $30 per user a month, Team Premier $92 per user a month. Both need 3+ users, billed yearly. |
Use a survey tool when you need a scored result, benchmarks or a large quant read. Run interviews first to learn why people react the way they do, then size it with a survey.
For CPG and brand teams, concept testing on Usercall means pack, claim, and message tests with real consumers. Each person sees one concept and talks it through with the AI moderator, which asks why when an answer is thin. A typical test is 15-30+ interviews, with the report back in 48 to 72 hours. You can run the same test in several markets at once, in 50+ languages, and compare what people said in each one. We can recruit participants for you, or you can bring your own. Plans start at $89 a month.
How it works
- Bring the stimulus and the decision. The product, pack, claim, or message, and what you need to decide.
- Run AI-moderated voice interviews. One concept per interview. The AI asks your questions and follows up when an answer is thin.
- Get the report in 48 to 72 hours. Themes per concept, the quotes behind each theme, and the audio and transcript of every interview. See a sample report.
What you can test
- Product or feature. Before you build or launch it. Show an image, or share a Figma prototype link people can click through.
- Pack or label. Before the direction is locked. Upload pack shots, label designs, or shelf mockups as images (PNG, JPG, GIF, or WebP). See concept testing for CPG brands.
- Claim or message. Whether people believe it, question it, or pass over it. Write the line into the interview, or show it as an image.
- Two or more routes. Give each route its own interviews and compare the themes side by side. If you need a head-to-head, the last question can ask which route people would pick and why.
People taking the interview on the web see the image or prototype while they talk.
What a concept test costs
Usercall plans start at $89 a month. Pay monthly or yearly, or ask about pay-as-you-go. Plans use credits, and a longer interview uses more of them.
A typical concept test is 15-30+ voice interviews. Lite, at $89 a month, covers about 10 to 20 interviews of up to 12 minutes. Core, at $199 a month, covers about 30 to 60 interviews of up to 25 minutes. So most concept tests fit in one month of Lite or Core. See pricing.
Plan prices cover running the interviews and the analysis. If you want us to find the people too, ask for a Consumer Interview Sprint quote. Recruiting is quoted per study, with incentives included. Larger teams can get a custom plan with more credits, seats, and languages.
For comparison, Drive Research, a US market research firm, puts one focus group at $7,000 to $20,000 or more, and 10 to 15 in-depth interviews at $5,000 to $15,000 (source). Those are full-service agency prices, so they cover more of the work than a plan does. It is not a like-for-like match, but it shows the gap.
AI interviews or a focus group?
The choice is one moderated room, or many one-to-one voice interviews that still come back in days.
A focus group puts people in one room. They hear each other, so answers can shift. Booking and write-up often take weeks. Drive Research puts one full-service focus group at $7,000 to $20,000 or more.
AI-moderated interviews are one-to-one. Each person sees the concept alone and talks it through in their own words. A typical concept test is 15-30+ interviews. Plans start at $89 a month (Lite). That is the monthly plan, not a flat fee for those interviews, and most tests fit in one month of Lite or Core.
For larger multi-market work, see this campaign concept test: 90 AI-moderated interviews across 7 markets in one week. Most concept tests do not need that.
Use a focus group when you need live group dynamics in one market. Use AI-moderated interviews when you need the why behind preference across more people or markets this week.
Message testing
Message testing is the same sprint on a line, a claim, or a campaign idea. People say what the line means to them, whether they believe it, and which one they would pick. For ads, see ad concept testing.
Why AI concept testing
- One-to-one. Nobody hears anyone else, so each answer is their own.
- Fast. Interviews run in parallel, with no scheduling, so a test fits in a week.
- Quotes linked to themes. Every theme traces back to the people who said it.
Already have interviews, reviews, or open-ended survey answers? See qualitative analysis.