> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.voxdash.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# AI-CATI – Overview

> AI-CATI runs telephone interviews with an AI interviewer. Learn how a study is set up, how it relates to the Questionnaire Builder, and what each study status means.

**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](https://mintcdn.com/voxdash/OFPcyQtvMysHCjUR/images/AICATI/a-quick-tour-1.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OFPcyQtvMysHCjUR\&q=85\&s=a785b99e2a1e752e6eb2e18ea2f57df3)

## How AI-CATI Works

An AI-CATI **study** connects four things:

| Part | Where it comes from |
| - | - |
| **Questionnaire** | A questionnaire version built in the [Questionnaire Builder](https://help.voxdash.com/Questionnaire-Builder/Questionnaire-List.md) and **published for AI-CATI**. |
| **Sample** | The contact list you upload in the study (CSV, XLSX or TXT). |
| **AI interviewer** | The voice and spoken scripts you choose. The interviewer's behavior is managed by VoxDash. |
| **Data project** | The VoxDash data project where the collected interviews are stored. |

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](https://help.voxdash.com/Questionnaire-Builder/Publish-questionnaire.md#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.

## 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](https://help.voxdash.com/Questionnaire-Builder/Publish-questionnaire.md#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.

> [!TIP]
>
> 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.

## Where to Start a Study

You can open AI-CATI from several places:

* **AI-CATI** in the main navigation opens the [studies list](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Studies-List.md).
* **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.

## 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](https://mintcdn.com/voxdash/OFPcyQtvMysHCjUR/images/AICATI/a-quick-tour-2.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OFPcyQtvMysHCjUR\&q=85\&s=28480bfb48a13f836f0ec6b6489bfe86)

| Step | What you do | Guide |
| - | - | - |
| 1. Study basics | Name the study, choose the data project, time zone and start date, and confirm the legal attestations. | [Study Basics](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Setup-Basics.md) |
| 2. Questionnaire | Bind a questionnaire version published for AI-CATI and choose the interview languages. | [Questionnaire](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Setup-Questionnaire.md) |
| 3. AI interview | Choose the AI voice and review the spoken scripts. | [AI Interview](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Setup-AI-Interview.md) |
| 4. Sample | Upload, map and clean the contact list, and set the target number of completes. | [Sample](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Setup-Sample.md) |
| 5. Screening and targets | Review the screener and set optional distribution targets. | [Screening and Targets](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Setup-Screening-Targets.md) |
| 6. Calling rules | Set calling hours, retries, callbacks, stop rules and recording. | [Calling Rules](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Setup-Calling-Rules.md) |
| 7. Cost and review | Choose the capacity tier, review the estimate, set the spend cap and approve the cost. | [Cost and Review](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Setup-Cost-Review.md) |

A step opens only when the earlier steps are complete, because each step reads data the earlier ones produce. Step 5 never blocks you.

## 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.

| Status | What it means | What you can do |
| - | - | - |
| **Draft** | Setup is not finished. | Edit setup, duplicate. |
| **Ready to launch** | All seven steps are complete and the cost is approved. | Launch, run a pre-test or self-test, edit setup, duplicate, open the launch readiness report. |
| **Scheduled** | The study was launched with a future start date and is waiting for it. | Change the start (or start now), emergency stop, close. |
| **Running** | The AI interviewer is dialing. | Stop calling, emergency stop, duplicate. |
| **Paused** | Dialing is paused (older studies only). | Resume, stop calling, emergency stop. |
| **Stopped, calls allowed to finish** | Calling was stopped gracefully: calls already in progress were allowed to finish. | Resume, close, edit the settings that may change while stopped, duplicate. |
| **Stopped, calls cut** | Calling was stopped hard: calls in progress were cut. | Same as above. |
| **Emergency-stopped** | Calling was stopped with the emergency stop. | Same as above. |
| **Stopped: out of credit** | Calling stopped because the organization ran out of AI credits. | Top up credits, then resume. |
| **Closed** | The study is finished. It reads **Target reached** when the target was met, or **Stopped short** when it ended early (spend cap reached, end date passed, or sample exhausted). | Review results and export data, duplicate. |
| **Archived** | The study was archived earlier. | Restore from archive, delete permanently. |

> [!NOTE]
>
> 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](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Study-Page-and-Actions.md).

## 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](https://mintcdn.com/voxdash/OFPcyQtvMysHCjUR/images/AICATI/a-quick-tour-4.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OFPcyQtvMysHCjUR\&q=85\&s=9d13fc4ad4ff46442ea0f606c62bb120)

## AI-CATI Help Pages

> **[Studies list](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Studies-List.md)**
>
> Find, filter and manage your studies.

> **[Setup steps 1–7](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Setup-Basics.md)**
>
> Walk through every setup step.

> **[Launch and readiness](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Launch-and-Readiness.md)**
>
> Readiness checks and the launch dialog.

> **[Study page and actions](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Study-Page-and-Actions.md)**
>
> Stop, resume, close and duplicate a study.

> **[Tests](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Tests-Pre-tests-and-Self-tests.md)**
>
> Self-test calls and pre-tests.

> **[Sub-samples](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Sub-samples.md)**
>
> Field the sample in parts.

> **[Live monitoring](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Live-Monitoring.md)**
>
> Follow calls, completes and spend live.

> **[Results and export](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Results-and-Export.md)**
>
> AAPOR outcomes, rates and data exports.

> **[Sample records](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Sample-Records.md)**
>
> Call history, answers, transcripts and recordings.

> **[Costs, credits and limits](https://help.voxdash.com/AI-CATI/Costs-Credits-and-Limits.md)**
>
> Estimates, holds, spend caps and limits.


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