Introducing the AI Guide Companion: Your New Research Partner in Study Design

Great research starts with great questions.

But too often, getting started and getting to those questions can be a huge mental (or capacity) hurdle.

Defining objectives, structuring a guide, refining follow-ups, and pressure-testing whether your questions ill actually get you the insights you need — this is where researchers spend an enormous amount of time before the first interview ever runs.

Today, we’re introducing the AI Guide Companion: a faster, more intuitive way to create, edit, and refine research guides — without giving up control.

This isn’t a black box. It’s a collaborator.

From blank page to thoughtful guide — in minutes

With the AI Guide Companion, you don’t start with a template or rigid form. You start with intent.

Give Outset context on what you’re trying to learn, who you’re talking to, the study methodology, and the decisions this research will inform. From there, the AI Guide Companion generates a complete, structured discussion guide — designed to help you get meaningful insights quickly, not generic answers.

Whether you’re running a lightweight discovery interview or a complex concept test, the AI Guide Companion helps you get started fast and frictionlessly.

A companion, not a black box

The best research tools don’t replace researchers — they work alongside them.

That’s why the AI Guide Companion is designed as a conversational, editable experience. Once your guide is generated, you can refine it the same way you’d collaborate with a teammate:

• Tighten or rework questions

• Add or remove follow-ups

• Adjust tone or depth

• Explore alternative phrasing

As you make changes, you can preview the guide in real time, side-by-side, so you always know exactly what participants will see.

Nothing is hidden. Nothing is locked. You stay in control at every step.

Key capabilities include:

Follow-up intelligence

Smart follow-up suggestions based on your goals, helping you go deeper where it matters most.

Live preview mode

See your guide evolve in real time, with no surprises once your study launches.

AI quality checks

Catch leading questions, gaps, or unclear phrasing early — before they impact your results.

All of this is designed to streamline study creation without sacrificing rigor.

Get started with the AI Guide Companion

Whether you’re designing your first study or refining your fiftieth, the AI Guide Companion is there to help you think faster, ask better questions, and launch with confidence.

Log in to try it today — or reach out to see it in action.