Talk out loud questions
Usability tests
Intercept studies
AI moderated studies
Talk out loud questions ask participants to respond to a prompt in their own words—speaking aloud—so you capture the reasoning and reactions behind their answers, not just the answer itself. How the question is moderated depends on your study type:
In usability tests and intercept studies, participants think aloud while their screen and session are recorded, producing a video response and a transcript.
In AI moderated studies, participants have a spoken exchange with the AI moderator, which can ask dynamic follow-ups to probe deeper.
Talk out loud question settings
The settings available on a Talk out loud question depend on your study type. Select your study type below.
In a usability test, Talk out loud is an open-ended question that prompts the participant to respond aloud while their screen and session are recorded. You'll configure the following:
Prompt
The question or instructions the participant responds to.
Privacy blur (optional)
Blurs the participant's screen to protect their personally identifiable information (PII). Audio is still recorded. For more information, see Privacy blur.
Stimuli (optional)
Attach images or media for the participant to react to as they respond. For more information, see Question stimuli.
Skip logic (optional)
Route participants to a later point in your study based on this question. For more information, see Skip logic.
In an intercept study, Talk out loud is an open-ended question that prompts the participant to respond aloud while their session is recorded. You'll configure the following:
Prompt
The question or instructions the participant responds to.
Privacy blur (optional)
Blurs the participant's screen to protect their personally identifiable information (PII). Audio is still recorded. For more information, see Privacy blur.
Stimuli (optional)
Attach images or media for the participant to react to as they respond. For more information, see Question stimuli.
Skip logic (optional)
Route participants to a later point in your study based on this question. For more information, see Skip logic.
In an AI moderated study, Talk out loud is a spoken exchange between the participant and the AI moderator, which can probe with dynamic follow-ups. You'll configure the following:
Prompt
The question the AI moderator asks the participant.
Read verbatim
When on, the AI moderator asks your prompt exactly as written. When off, it may rephrase the prompt naturally while staying on topic.
Follow-up questions
How many follow-ups the AI moderator asks in response to the participant's answer: Only if response is short, 1 follow-up, or 2–3 follow-ups.
Follow-up guidance (optional)
Guide the kind of follow-ups the moderator asks. For example, to focus on a competitor the participant mentions or ask the reasoning behind a choice.
Visual intelligence
Captures expressions in participant responses. For more information, see Visual intelligence.
Stimuli (optional)
Attach images or media for the participant to react to as they respond. For more information, see Question stimuli.
Add a Talk out loud question to a study
Navigate to the study tab of your builder—the Usability test, Intercept, or AI moderator tab, depending on your study type.
Click + Add in the center of the builder or in the left sidebar.
Select Talk out loud. (In usability tests and intercept studies, you'll find it under the Usability category.)
Enter your Prompt and configure the available settings. For details, see Talk out loud question settings above.
Click Done.
Analyze a Talk out loud question
Every Talk out loud response is captured in the participant's session recording and transcript, so you can watch or read exactly what they said.
In usability tests and intercept studies, responses are transcribed verbatim and available across all analysis views.
In AI moderated studies, responses are transcribed alongside the session video. Dscout AI also generates summaries for each Talk out loud question and surfaces emerging themes across participants. For more information, see View AI moderated study responses.