Introducing Optimal’s New Interviews Tool: Automate Your Research, Accelerate Your Insights

A year ago, we looked at the user research market and made a decision.

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We saw product teams shipping faster than ever while research tools stayed stuck in time. We saw researchers drowning in manual work, waiting on vendor emails, stitching together fragmented tools. We heard "should we test this?" followed by "never mind, we already shipped."

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The dominant platforms got comfortable. We didn't.

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Today, we're excited to announce Optimal 3.0, the result of refusing to accept the status quo and building the fresh alternative teams have been asking for.

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The Problem: Research Platforms Haven't Evolved

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The gap between product velocity and research velocity has never been wider. The situation isn't sustainable. And it's not the researcher's fault. The tools are the problem. They’re: 

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• Built for specialists only - Complex interfaces that gatekeep research from the rest of the team
• Fragmented ecosystems - Separate tools for recruitment, testing, and analysis that don't talk to each other
• Data in silos - Insights trapped study-by-study with no way to search across everything
• Zero integration - Platforms that force you to abandon your workflow instead of fitting into it

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These platforms haven't changed because they don't have to, so we set out to challenge them.

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Our Answer: A Complete Ecosystem for Research Velocity

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Optimal 3.0 isn't an incremental update to the old way of doing things. It's a fundamental rethinking of what a research platform should be.

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Research For All, Not Just Researchers.

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For 18 years, we've believed research should be accessible to everyone, not just specialists. Optimal 3.0 takes that principle further.

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Unlimited seats. Zero gatekeeping.

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Designers can validate concepts without waiting for research bandwidth. PMs can test assumptions without learning specialist tools. Marketers can gather feedback without procurement nightmares. Research shouldn't be rationed by licenses or complexity. It should be a shared capability across your entire team.

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A Complete Ecosystem in One Place.

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Stop stitching together point solutions.Optimal 3.0 gives you everything you need in one platform:

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Recruitment Built In Access millions of verified participants worldwide without the vendor tag. Target by demographics, behaviors, and custom screeners. Launch studies in minutes, not days. No endless email chains. No procurement delays.

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Learn more about Recruitment

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Testing That Adapts to You

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• Live Site Testing: Test any URL, your production site, staging, or competitors, without code or developer dependencies
• Prototype Testing: Connect Figma and go from design to insights in minutes
• Mobile Testing: Native screen recordings that capture the real user experience
• Enhanced Traditional Methods: Card sorting, tree testing, first-click tests, the methodologically sound foundations we built our reputation on

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Learn more about Live Site Testing

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AI-Powered Analysis (With Control) Interview analysis used to take weeks. We've reduced it to minutes.

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Our AI automatically identifies themes, surfaces key quotes, and generates summaries, while you maintain full control over the analysis.

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As one researcher told us: "What took me 4 weeks to manually analyze now took me 5 minutes."

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This isn't about replacing researcher judgment. It's about amplifying it. The AI handles the busywork, tagging, organizing, timestamping. You handle the strategic thinking and judgment calls. That's where your value actually lives.

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Learn more about Optimal Interviews

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Chat Across All Your Data Your research data is now conversational.

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Ask questions and get answers instantly, backed by actual video evidence from your studies. Query across multiple Interview studies at once. Share findings with stakeholders complete with supporting clips.

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Every insight comes with the receipts. Because stakeholders don't just need insights, they need proof.

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A Dashboard Built for Velocity See all your studies, all your data, in one place. Track progress across your entire team. Jump from question to insight in seconds. Research velocity starts with knowing what you have.

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Explore the new dashboard

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Integration Layer

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Optimal 3.0 fits your workflow. It doesn't dominate it. We integrate with the tools you already use, Figma, Slack, your existing tech stack, because research shouldn't force you to abandon how you work.

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What Didn't Change: Methodological Rigor

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Here's what we didn't do: abandon the foundations that made teams trust us.

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Card sorting, tree testing, first-click tests, surveys, the methodologically sound tools that Amazon, Google, Netflix, and HSBC have relied on for years are all still here. Better than ever.

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We didn't replace our roots. We built on them.

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18 years of research methodology, amplified by modern AI and unified in a complete ecosystem.

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Why This Matters Now

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Product development isn't slowing down. AI is accelerating everything. Competitors are moving faster. Customer expectations are higher than ever.

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Research can either be a bottleneck or an accelerator.

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The difference is having a platform that:

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• Makes research accessible to everyone (not just specialists)
• Provides a complete ecosystem (not fragmented point solutions)
• Amplifies judgment with AI (instead of replacing it)
• Integrates with workflows (instead of forcing new ones)
• Lets you search across all your data (not trapped in silos)

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Optimal 3.0 is built for research that arrives before the decision is made. Research that shapes products, not just documents them. Research that helps teams ship confidently because they asked users first.

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A Fresh Alternative

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We're not trying to be the biggest platform in the market.

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We're trying to be the best alternative to the clunky tools that have dominated for years.

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Amazon, Google, Netflix, Uber, Apple, Workday, they didn't choose us because we're the incumbent. They chose us because we make research accessible, fast, and actionable.

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"Overall, each release feels like the platform is getting better." — Lead Product Designer at Flo

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"The one research platform I keep coming back to." — G2 Review

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What's Next

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This launch represents our biggest transformation, but it's not the end. It's a new beginning.

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We're continuing to invest in:

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• AI capabilities that amplify (not replace) researcher judgment
• Platform integrations that fit your workflow
• Methodological innovations that maintain rigor while increasing speed
• Features that make research accessible to everyone

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Our goal is simple: make user research so fast and accessible that it becomes impossible not to include users in every decision.

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See What We've Built

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If you're evaluating research platforms and tired of the same old clunky tools, we'd love to show you the alternative.

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Book a demo or start a free trial

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The platform that turns "should we?" into "we did."

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Welcome to Optimal 3.0.

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At Optimal, we know the reality of user research: you've just wrapped up a fantastic interview session, your head is buzzing with insights, and then... you're staring at hours of video footage that somehow needs to become actionable recommendations for your team.

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User interviews and usability sessions are treasure troves of insight, but the reality is reviewing hours of raw footage can be time-consuming, tedious, and easy to overlook important details. Too often, valuable user stories never make it past the recording stage.

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That's why we’re excited to announce the launch of Interviews, a brand-new tool that saves you time with AI and automation, turns real user moments into actionable recommendations, and provides the evidence you need to shape decisions, bring stakeholders on board, and inspire action.

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Interviews, Reimagined

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We surveyed more than 100 researchers, designers, and product managers, conducted discovery interviews, tested prototypes, and ran feedback sessions to help guide the discovery and development of Optimal Interviews.

The result? What once took hours of video review now takes minutes. With Interviews, you get:

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• Instant clarity: Upload your interviews and let AI automatically surface key themes, pain points, opportunities, and other key insights.
  
• Deeper exploration: Ask follow-up questions and anything with AI chat. Every insight comes with supporting video evidence, so you can back up recommendations with real user feedback.
  
• Automatic highlight reels: Generate clips and compilations that spotlight the takeaways that matter.
  
• Real user voices: Turn insight into impact with user feedback clips and videos. Share insights and download clips to drive product and stakeholder decisions.

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Groundbreaking AI at Your Service

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This tool is powered by AI designed for researchers, product owners, and designers. This isn’t just transcription or summarization, it’s intelligence tailored to surface the insights that matter most. It’s like having a personal AI research assistant, accelerating analysis and automating your workflow without compromising quality. No more endless footage scrolling.

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The AI used for Interviews as well as all other AI with Optimal is backed by AWS Amazon Bedrock, ensuring that your AI insights are supported with industry-leading protection and compliance.

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Evolving Optimal Interviews

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A big thank you to our early access users! Your feedback helped us focus on making Optimal Interviews even better. Here's what's new:

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• Speed and easy access to insights: More video clips, instant download, and bookmark options to make sharing findings faster than ever.
• Privacy: Disable video playback while still extracting insights from transcripts and get PII redaction for English audio alongside transcripts and insights.
• Trust: Our enhanced, best-in-class AI chat experience lets teams explore patterns and themes confidently.
• Expanded study capability: You can now upload up to 20 videos per Interviews study.

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What’s Next: The Future of Moderated Interviews in Optimal

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This new tool is just the beginning. Our vision is to help you manage the entire moderated interview process inside Optimal, from recruitment to scheduling to analysis and sharing.

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Here’s what’s coming:

• View your scheduled sessions directly within Optimal. Link up with your own calendar.
  
• Connect seamlessly with Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams.‍‍
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Imagine running your full end-to-end interview workflow, all in one platform. That’s where we’re heading, and Interviews is our first step.
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Ready to Explore?

Interviews is available now for our latest Optimal plans with study limits. Start transforming your footage into minutes of clarity and bring your users’ voices to the center of every decision. We can’t wait to see what you uncover.

‍Get started with Interviews.‍

As we close out 2025, we’ve been reflecting on what we’ve achieved together and where we’re headed next. 

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We’re proud to have supported customers in 45+ countries and nearly 400 cities, powering insights for teams at LEGO, Google, Apple, Nike, and many more. Over the last 12 months alone, more than 1.2 million participants completed studies on Optimal, shaping decisions that lead to better, more intuitive products and experiences around the world.

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We also strengthened and brought our community together. We attended 10 industry events, launched 4 leadership circle breakfasts for senior leaders in UX, product and design, and hosted 19 webinars, creating spaces to exchange ideas, share best practices, and explore the future of our changing landscape across topics like AI, automation, and accessibility.

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But the real story isn't in the numbers. It's in what we built to meet this moment.

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Entering a New Era for Insights

This year, we introduced a completely refreshed Optimal experience - a new Home and Studies interface designed to remove friction and help teams move faster. Clean, calm, intentional. Built not just to look modern, but to feel effortless.

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Optimal: From Discovery to Delivery

2025 was a milestone year: it marked the most significant expansion of the Optimal platform we think we’ve ever accomplished, with an introduction of automation powered by AI.

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Interviews

A transformative way to accelerate insights from interviews and videos through automated highlight reels, instant transcripts, summaries, and AI chat, eliminating days and weeks of manual work.

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Prototype Testing

Test designs early and often. Capture the nuance of user interactions with screen, audio, and/or video recording.

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Live Site Testing

Watch real people interact with any website and web app to see what’s actually happening. Your direct window into reality.

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We also continued enhancing our core toolkit, adding display logic to surveys and launching a new study creation flow to help teams move quickly and confidently across the platform.

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AI: Automate the Busywork, Focus on the Breakthroughs

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The next era of research isn't about replacing humans with AI. It’s about making room for the work humans do best. In 2025, we were intentional with where we added AI to Optimal, guided by our core principle to automate your research. Our ever-growing AI toolkit helps you:

• accelerate your analysis and uncover key insights with automated insights
• transcribe interviews 
• refine study questions for clarity
• dig deeper with AI chat 
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AI handles the tedious parts so you can focus on the meaningful ones.

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Looking Ahead: Raising the Bar for UX Research & Insights

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2025 built out our foundation. The next will raise the bar.

We're entering a phase where research and insights becomes:
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• faster to run
• easier to communicate
• available to everyone on your team
• and infinitely more powerful with AI woven throughout your workflow

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To everyone who ran a study, shared feedback, or pushed us to do better: thank you. You make Optimal what it is. Here’s to an even faster, clearer, more impactful year of insights.


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Onwards and upwards.