The Growing Limitations of Existing Research Practices
User research at SumUp was hampered by a few key obstacles:
Inconsistent Moderation
Self-moderated sessions varied in quality, while unmoderated tests often missed opportunities for deeper probing.
Manual Analysis Burden
Watching every video and manually extracting insights was extremely time-consuming and often subjective.
Potential Research Bias
Despite efforts to design unbiased tasks, it was challenging to completely eliminate bias without external validation.
Limited Scalability
Their mix of methods (surveys, UserTesting.com, direct outreach) worked but made scaling research difficult.
Crafting unbiased tasks and structuring studies manually is time-consuming, especially without a streamlined framework.
Why SumUp Chose Userology
SumUp evaluated various research platforms to enhance their process. Userology stood out for its advanced AI moderation capabilities and intelligent reporting features that dramatically improved their research quality and efficiency.
Intelligent AI Moderation
AI agents conduct sessions with human-like follow-up questions, proper think-aloud protocols, and strategic probing at key moments.
Unbiased Study Design
AI assistance helps create thoughtful studies that minimize bias in research questions and tasks.
Automated Insight Generation
AI agents analyze session recordings to extract themes, quotes, and usability metrics without human intervention.
Comprehensive AI Reports
Detailed reports with quantitative scores, qualitative insights, and actionable recommendations generated automatically.
Userology's AI-moderated sessions provide richer, more actionable insights compared to UserTesting. It simplifies interpretation with usability scores and rationale, offers detailed task summaries, and reduces the need to watch every video.
AI-Enhanced Research Workflow
| Stage | Before Userology | After Userology |
|---|---|---|
| Study Design | Manual creation from scratch | AI suggests unbiased tasks & questions |
| Moderation | Inconsistent human moderation | AI agent with consistent probing techniques |
| Analysis | Watch all videos manually | AI extracts themes, quotes & insights |
| Reporting | Manual report creation | Comprehensive AI-generated reports |
Inside Userology's AI Moderation
Userology's AI agents transform the research process with capabilities that go far beyond traditional moderation:
Adaptive Questioning
The AI agent adjusts questions based on participant responses, digging deeper when confusion or interest is detected.
Think-Aloud Facilitation
AI prompts participants to verbalize their thoughts at key moments, ensuring rich qualitative feedback.
Unbiased Probing
AI uses neutral language and open-ended questions to avoid leading participants toward specific answers.
Consistent Experience
Every participant receives the same high-quality moderation experience, eliminating moderator variability.
AI-Generated Research Reports
Userology's AI doesn't just moderate sessions—it transforms raw data into comprehensive, actionable reports:
Usability Score Benchmarking
Quantitative metrics that objectively measure the user experience across different tasks and flows.
Theme Identification
AI automatically identifies recurring patterns and insights across multiple sessions.
Quote Extraction
The most relevant and impactful participant quotes are highlighted and categorized by theme.
Actionable Recommendations
AI suggests specific improvements based on the identified usability issues and participant feedback.
AI-Powered Research Process
1Connect Prototype
Link Figma prototype with automatic flow detection.
2AI Study Setup
AI suggests unbiased tasks and questions based on your research goals.
3Recruit Participants
Use Userology's panel or invite your own participants.
4AI Agent Moderation
AI conducts sessions with strategic probing and proper think-aloud protocols.
5Automated Insight Generation
AI analyzes recordings to extract themes, quotes, and usability metrics.
Results & Impact
By adopting Userology's AI-powered research platform, SumUp transformed their research capabilities and improved their decision-making process:
"The ability to interpret Figma prototype connections and automatically understand the flow is incredibly helpful, especially during moderation when participants get stuck.
"
Culture of Continuous Discovery
Userology's AI agents have helped SumUp integrate research more seamlessly into their product development process, enabling them to validate decisions with greater confidence and efficiency.
Having a quantitative measure to assess usability is a game-changer compared to relying solely on self-reported scores, providing a more objective baseline for evaluation.
SumUp now uses Userology's AI agents primarily for early-stage generative research (such as product market fit) and usability tests, allowing them to gather insights more efficiently.
While they recognize that a dedicated UX researcher brings invaluable expertise that can't be fully replaced, Userology's AI capabilities have become an essential tool for validating decisions in an unbiased way with limited resources.
Key Takeaways
Userology's AI-powered platform has enhanced SumUp's research capabilities by:
Elevating moderation quality
AI agents conduct sessions with consistent quality and strategic probing techniques.
Automating insight generation
AI analyzes recordings to extract themes, quotes, and usability metrics without human intervention.
Producing comprehensive reports
Detailed reports with quantitative scores, qualitative insights, and actionable recommendations.
Establishing objective benchmarks
Quantitative usability scores provide consistent evaluation metrics across studies.
For teams like SumUp that want to validate their decisions in an unbiased way without extensive research resources, Userology's AI agents offer a powerful solution. The combination of intelligent moderation and automated reporting makes it particularly valuable for generative market research and situations where teams need quick, actionable insights without the overhead of traditional research methods.
Ready to Experience AI-Powered Research?
Userology's intelligent AI agents help teams validate decisions in an unbiased way, providing deeper insights and comprehensive reports without the overhead of traditional research methods.