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AI-CATI (AI computer-assisted telephone interviewing) lets you field a questionnaire over the phone with an AI interviewer. You upload a contact list, choose a voice and calling rules, approve the cost, and launch. The AI interviewer dials the sample, reads your questions verbatim, records the answers, and stops when your target is reached. Every study runs with the same interviewer on every call: the same voice, rules and pace from the first call to the last, with a transcript and an outcome recorded for each call.
AI-CATI quick tour – AI phone interviews, end to end

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How AI-CATI Works

An AI-CATI study connects four things: The typical workflow is:
1

Publish the questionnaire for AI-CATI

In the Questionnaire Builder, publish a version and then publish it for AI-CATI. Only these versions can be used in a study. See Publishing a Questionnaire for AI CATI.
2

Set up the study

Create a study and complete the seven setup steps: basics, questionnaire, AI interview, sample, screening and targets, calling rules, and cost and review.
3

Test (optional)

Place a self-test call to hear the interview yourself, or run a pre-test on a small part of the sample.
4

Launch

Launch the full sample, or field it in parts with sub-samples. The cost is held from your organization’s AI credits at launch.
5

Monitor and analyze

Follow progress live, then review results, transcripts and recordings, and export the data.

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The Questionnaire Builder Connection

A study does not contain its own questions. It binds a questionnaire version from the Questionnaire Builder and takes a snapshot of it.
  • Only versions with the status Published for AI-CATI are offered. A version that is only Published cannot be bound until it is also published for AI-CATI.
  • Publishing for AI-CATI runs extra checks — for example, screener and quota questions must come first, and every answerable question needs a missing value. See AI CATI Validation Rules.
  • Published versions are sealed. To change the questions, create a new version in the Questionnaire Builder, publish it for AI-CATI, and bind the new version in the study.
When a version is published for AI-CATI, the Questionnaire Builder header shows a Create AI-CATI button. It opens a new study with that version already selected.

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Where to Start a Study

You can open AI-CATI from several places:
  • AI-CATI in the main navigation opens the studies list.
  • New study on the studies list.
  • The Add menu in the header.
  • Create AI-CATI in the Questionnaire Builder editor, for a version published for AI-CATI.
  • The dashboard, where a questionnaire published for AI-CATI offers a Run with AI-CATI action, and where studies that need attention (out of credit, stopped, or ready to launch) are listed.

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The Seven Setup Steps

Setup is a guided wizard. Your work is saved as you go, and Save and exit lets you stop at any step and come back later.
Set up a study in seven guided steps
A step opens only when the earlier steps are complete, because each step reads data the earlier ones produce. Step 5 never blocks you.

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Study Statuses

The status badge on the studies list and on the study page tells you where a study is in its life cycle. Hover over a badge to see a short explanation.
Setup can be edited only in Draft and Ready to launch. From the first dial on, the setup is read-only. When a study is stopped, only the settings that are safe to change while stopped can be edited — see Study Page and Actions.

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Quick Tour

The Quick tour button next to the page title on the studies list opens a five-slide introduction:
  1. AI phone interviews, end to end – what AI-CATI does.
  2. Set up a study in seven guided steps – the setup wizard.
  3. Reach the right people at the right time – sample, targets and calling hours.
  4. Launch and follow it live – launch, live monitoring, tests and exports.
  5. Learn more about AI-CATI studies – links to this help center.
The tour opens by itself the first time your organization has no studies. Select Don’t show this again to stop it from opening automatically.
Quick tour – launch and follow it live

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AI-CATI Help Pages

Studies list

Find, filter and manage your studies.

Setup steps 1–7

Walk through every setup step.

Launch and readiness

Readiness checks and the launch dialog.

Study page and actions

Stop, resume, close and duplicate a study.

Tests

Self-test calls and pre-tests.

Sub-samples

Field the sample in parts.

Live monitoring

Follow calls, completes and spend live.

Results and export

AAPOR outcomes, rates and data exports.

Sample records

Call history, answers, transcripts and recordings.

Costs, credits and limits

Estimates, holds, spend caps and limits.