For decades, surveys have been the go-to tool for researchers. But let’s face it—most surveys don’t feel great to take. They’re long. They’re clunky. They feel more like standardized tests than a genuine effort to listen. This is where conversational surveys come in.
Traditional online surveys are, quite simply, in a crisis.
According to Pew Research Center, average survey response rates have fallen from nearly 40% in 1997 to under 5% today. Adding to the problem are survey fraud and, more important, disengaged participants.
If online survey platforms are broken, what comes next?
A new wave of research suggests that the answer is conversational surveys—a mobile-first, chat-like method designed to feel natural, engaging, and more human.
A conversational survey is a type of research method that replaces a rigid questionnaire with chat-style, mobile-first interfaces. The goal is simple: to make answering questions feel more like texting with a friend and less like taking a test.
A conversational approach to research is not just about adding emojis to your questionnaire. And, contrary to what many top market research platforms believe, conversational is not just about qual research or voice-based research.
When we created the conversational research category in the insights space, it was really inspired by the modern chat culture. That's why for us, conversational surveys are defined by three key ingredients:
The Channel – Delivered via mobile-first platforms like SMS or chat apps. (Because this is where modern consumers like Gen Zs are.)
The Tone – Written in plain, human language instead of corporate or survey-speak.
The Interface – Designed as a familiar, back-and-forth chat exchange.
This combination makes the process easy, intuitive, and even enjoyable—which directly impacts both participation, the quality of responses, speed to insights, research costs and overall market research ROI.
When you introduce new methodologies in the insights space, it's crucial to test it to make sure that a.) it has a positive impact on the respondent experience, and b.) it leads to deeper insights. As pioneers of the conversational market research approach, this is exactly what we do at Rival Technologies and Reach3 Insights.
Our latest research-on-research was conducted in 2025. Reach3 ran a parallel study involving 2,006 people: one group received a traditional online survey, while the other group got a conversational survey from the Rival platform.
From then, we dove into engagement, data quality and integrity, and much more. Based on the study, here are some of the benefits of conversational surveys.
When surveys feel human, people lean in and share more.
Compared to people's experience with a traditional online survey software, conversational surveys generated:
2.5x longer responses with chat-like open-ends
5x longer responses when AI probing added contextual follow-up questions
This finding is consistent with other research. For example, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania found that when people respond via mobile, they are more likely to share more.
Engagement is everything in research. Across all age groups—from Gen Z to Baby Boomers—participants rated conversational surveys as more engaging, more enjoyable, and easier to complete compared to traditional ones.
One participant put it simply:
“It felt more like texting a friend than filling out a quiz.”
This better experience also boosted willingness to participate in future research—a long-term advantage for brands who want to create ongoing insight communities or simply want to ask relevant follow-up questions to their customers.
One common worry is that if conversational surveys feel “too friendly,” the data might not be rigorous. The research shows that’s not the case.
On closed-ended (quantitative) questions, conversational surveys produced results that were statistically consistent with traditional methods.
The difference was in the qualitative layer: deeper, clearer, and more emotionally expressive answers. We used Thoughtfulness Score (a metric that evaluates the relevance, specificity, clarity, and emotional depth of responses) to understand the quality of responses, and conversational research outperformed traditional surveys significantly.
In other words, you don’t sacrifice rigor—you gain richness.
We live in a mobile-first world. People aren’t sitting at desktops to complete surveys. They’re multitasking on their phones—scrolling, texting, and messaging.
That's why it's important to use a market research platform that's mobile-first, not simply mobile friendly. (Yes, there's a difference! 😜)
Conversational surveys fit naturally into that environment. Participants described them as smoother, easier, and more intuitive, even when the conversational survey took slightly longer to complete.
AI is transforming research workflows—from auto-summarization of unstructured data to sentiment analysis. But AI market research tools are only as good as the data they're fed. As the old adage goes, it's garbage in, garbage out!
Conversational surveys provide richer, higher-quality inputs that fuel stronger AI outputs.
In the study, AI analysis of conversational survey responses produced more actionable, insightful summaries than those from traditional open-ends.
If you’re considering a shift to conversational methods, here are some proven best practices:
Design for mobile first. If it doesn’t feel natural on a phone, it won’t get completed. Keep interfaces chat-style, simple, and responsive.
Use a conversational tone. Write as if you’re texting someone you know. Avoid jargon or overly formal survey-speak.
Capture both quant, qual open-ends and video. Encourage people to share stories, not just tick boxes. A conversational research platform like Rival allows you to seamlessly capture these different data points.
Give people an option to submit video feedback: Video responses, in particular, generated up to 8x longer answers in the study.
Prioritize the respondent experience like your data quality depends on it — because it does. A positive participant experience directly improves both completion rates and data quality. Remember: how you ask is as important as what you ask.
👉 Our ebook, 9 Conversational Research Principles, walks through more best practices as well as case studies from Kellanova, Coca-Cola, Time Out, and more.
If you’re convinced conversational surveys are worth exploring, the next question is: how do you choose the right market research company to work with?
Here are key factors to look for:
Mobile-first participant experience: Ensure the platform is designed specifically for mobile engagement, not retrofitted from desktop surveys. Look for conversational survey software that mimics natural messaging experiences (complete with chat bubbles, GIFs, video options, and emojis if appropriate).
Robust research capabilities: Just because conversational research is new doesn't mean you have to compromise on rigor. All major survey question types (quant, qual and video, for example) should be available, as well as pipping, masking, etc. Reporting should be robust as well, allowing you to create crosstabs, access topline reports, etc.
AI-enhanced capabilities: The best insight platforms in 2025 have AI thoughtfully built in. Look for smart AI market research tools that help enhance your expertise as an insights pro.
Recontact and community features: Conversational surveys have high recontact rates (65%). An advantage that make it easier to build ongoing, iterative insights program or a market research online community.
Proven track record: Choose a market research supplier with case studies, research-on-research validation, and a track record of working with modern brands. Also, ask about their customer success team: leaning on this team can help increase your team's capacity and accelerate adoption of conversational research in your organization.
👉 Pro tip: Rival Technologies is one of the top conversational research platforms today! Reach out to us for a demo if you're curious why.
At its core, conversational research is about meeting people where they are. Instead of forcing respondents into outdated, rigid formats, it embraces the way people already communicate.
Research proves that a conversational approach is better because:
Participants prefer it.
Responses are deeper and more thoughtful.
Quantitative rigor holds steady.
AI outputs improve with richer inputs.
This isn’t just a methodological upgrade—it’s a mindset shift. For insights leaders, adopting conversational surveys isn’t just about keeping up with market research trends. It’s about building stronger connections with participants and generating more valuable insights for decision-making.
In the end, conversational surveys represent a future-ready alternative to old-school online surveys like Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey — one that's more engaging for participants, more reliable for researchers, and better suited for the AI-powered world we’re entering.
If you want better answers, start by rethinking how you ask the questions.
💡 Curious to learn more? Read our report, The Research on Conversational Research: Why Traditional Surveys are Failing — and What 2,006 People Say Work Instead.
Got questions about insight communities and mobile research?Chat with one of our experts
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