4 Ways AI Can Make Your User Interviews Better (and Easier)
AI can help you do more than record user interviews or summarize your data.
Have you considered using AI to prepare for interviews - and even improve them?
In this post, I’ll share four ways AI can make your next user interviews easier and better.
1. Understanding the Problem Space
Before you talk to users, you need a solid understanding of the problem space. AI can help you get there faster.
Let’s say you’re building a productivity app. You may already have some ideas about common struggles, but AI can help expand your thinking.
For example, you can ask ChatGPT broad questions like:
➡️ “What are the most common struggles people have with productivity?”
You’ll get a general overview which you can explore further. Try narrowing in on a topic:
➡️ “Expand on the point about lack of focus?”
You may even go on and ask ChatGPT to list apps that help people focus, conduct a competitive analysis, or identify the most popular solution on the market.
⚠️ A word of caution: Always fact-check the information AI gives you. In fact, it is a good practice to challenge it by asking for sources or pointing out errors. Your judgment is key to making AI outputs useful.
2. Generating personas
Having gained insights into the problem space, you can start thinking about who you are building for - what would a target customer for a productivity app looks like?
For example, prompt ChatGPT with:
➡️ “Describe the ideal user persona for a productivity app designed for freelancers.”
Using prompts like “describe the ideal persona for my productivity app”, ChatGPT can create a persona to use in your research. Even better, you can use specialized AI like this User Persona Generator to help you develop your personas.
These AI-generated personas are great starting points and can be refined with real user data later.
3. Scripting interview questions
Designing interviews takes experience and practice. AI can help you with your script.
For example:
➡️ “Write 10 open-ended interview questions for productivity app users.”
You can then focus your energy on fine-tuning these AI-generated questions based on your research goals. This saves time and ensures you are not starting from scratch.
4. Simulating interviews
Here’s where AI gets really interesting. You can use ChatGPT to simulate mock interviews using the personas.
It simulates realistic user responses by garnering insights from real-world user behaviours, referencing user needs and pains, and even including some contradictions and inconsistencies to mimic real users’ responses.
Why do this?
Mock interviews help you spot weak questions and identify general themes before you talk to real users. It’s a valuable dry run that sharpens your actual user interviews.
Below is a partial example of a mock interview generated by ChatGPT (sub-headings provided by ChatGPT as well) :
Introduction
You: Hi Alex, thanks for taking the time to chat. I’d love to understand how you currently manage your time and where you face challenges. Let’s start with a bit about your daily routine. Can you walk me through a typical workday?
Alex: Sure! I usually start my day by checking my emails, which often leads to scrolling through social media or responding to messages. Then, I jump into client work, but I get sidetracked—sometimes by notifications, other times by just bouncing between projects without a clear focus. By the time the day ends, I feel like I’ve been working non-stop but haven’t made real progress.
Current Time Management Methods
You: It sounds like distractions are a big challenge. Have you tried any tools or strategies to stay focused?
Alex: Yeah, I’ve tried using time-tracking apps like Toggl, but they feel like extra work. I also set timers to work in focused sessions, but I often ignore them or just keep working past them. Sometimes I make to-do lists, but they get overwhelming, and I end up jumping between tasks instead of completing them.
You: When you do get into a productive flow, what helps you stay focused?
Alex: When I have a strict client deadline, I can focus well because I feel pressure to finish. But on days when I have flexibility, I procrastinate or jump between unnecessary tasks, like tweaking designs endlessly instead of delivering them.
Pain Points & Unmet Needs
You: What’s the most frustrating part of your current time management struggles?
Alex: I constantly feel busy, but I don’t feel like I’m actually moving forward in my career. I take on too many small, urgent tasks.
You: If you could have a system that helps you focus better, what would be most valuable to you?
Alex: I don’t want another complicated system—I just need something simple that helps me focus on important stuff and fight off distractions.
Wrapping Up
See how AI-simulated interviews highlight some important and recurring themes? You can use this to sharpen your actual interviews, guide field research, and develop a deeper understanding of your target audience - and maybe even your product-market fit.
Thanks for sharing this! Great reminder that AI can support before the interview too - not just after. I especially liked the mock interview example and how it helps surface key themes early. Really practical tips I’ll definitely try!
Insightful. AI’s role in research is shifting—from a post-interview helper to a thoughtful partner in shaping the conversation itself. It’s surprisingly helpful for clarifying your thinking, stress-testing assumptions, and making sure you don’t walk into interviews flying blind!