Updated October 2026. Outset is one of the best-funded AI-moderated interview platforms, used by enterprise insights and UX teams for interviews and prototype tests. The main alternatives in 2026 are Yazi, Listen Labs, Conveo, Strella, Maze, Voxpopme, Glaut, Tellet, Verso and Discuss.

Most of them run AI interviews through a browser link, so the real differences are who you can reach, what else the platform runs, how you recruit and what a study costs. This guide compares all ten on those points.

What Outset Does Well

Outset runs AI-moderated interviews by video, voice or text, with screen share for usability tests on Figma prototypes, live sites and apps, concept tests and rating questions with follow-up probes. It shipped quickly in 2026, adding Visual Intelligence, the Outset Agent for Claude, ChatGPT, Figma and Notion (May), prototype heatmaps, Co-Design (July), diary studies (August) and digital twins.

It raised a $30M Series B in December 2025, $51M in total, and alongside it announced an AI-native customer experience platform. Customers include HubSpot, Microsoft, Nestlé and Coinbase, and it holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 42001 certification.

Why Teams Look for an Outset Alternative

• Recruitment. Outset doesn't run its own panel. Recruitment is built in through 25+ partner panels such as Prolific and User Interviews, or you bring your own list, and some teams would rather work with a vendor that owns its panel.
• Contract shape. Pricing is a subscription on a custom quote. Teams that run research project by project often want something lighter.
• Desktop and voice. Outset recommends a desktop or laptop and leans on voice answers. That suits online panels better than mobile-first audiences.
• Independent proof. There are few independent reviews of Outset (none on G2 at the time of writing), so buyers often want to compare it against tools with a longer public track record.

Outset Alternatives Compared

The table below shows how participants take part in each platform, whether it has its own panel, and what it is best for. All ten have some form of AI moderation or analysis, and most price on a custom quote, so we've focused on how each one works.

1. Yazi: AI Interviews, Diaries and Surveys Inside WhatsApp

Outset and the other platforms in this list send participants to a web link or an app. Yazi runs the whole study inside WhatsApp, the app people already open dozens of times a day. There's no link to open, no camera to switch on and no account to create, and participants answer the way they'd reply to a friend: a quick text, a voice note on the way home, or a photo or video of what's in front of them.

AI moderation with a human in the loop: The AI moderator follows your discussion guide and follows up on every answer in the chat. A researcher can take over any conversation live and hand it back, and group discussions can be run by a human moderator or the AI.

More than one interview: Yazi runs AI interviews, surveys, multi-day diaries and WhatsApp group discussions from one platform, so a study can screen with a survey, go deep with an AI interview and then follow people for days or weeks, with reminders in the same thread.

Reporting: Answers are grouped into themes as they arrive, with an AI-written executive summary you can edit and export to PDF or PowerPoint, cross-tabs, transcripts that read like the original chat, and highlight reels cut from participants' own voice notes and videos.

Panel and reach: A 1.8M+ panel with reach in 25+ countries, or your own customer list. Yazi moderates natively in English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Setswana, Sesotho, Swahili, French, Portuguese and others, with AI translation across 100+ languages. Studies hold a 90% completion rate.

Quality and compliance: Automated checks flag inconsistent answers and responses that look AI-generated. Yazi is POPIA, GDPR and CCPA compliant, with research data hosted on AWS in the UK and Ireland.

Where it fits less well: Participants need WhatsApp, and Yazi isn't built for screen-share prototype testing or live video focus groups. For those, the browser-based tools below are the better fit.

Best for: Diaries and studies that run over days; research with a client's own customers or a general population; studies that mix quant and qual; teams who want AI scale with a researcher able to step in; and mobile-first audiences in Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and anywhere WhatsApp is the default way people talk. For a direct side-by-side, see Yazi vs Outset.

2. Listen Labs: Enterprise AI Interviews, Now Joining Salesforce

San Francisco-based Listen Labs, founded in 2023 by Alfred Wahlforss and Florian Juengermann, has grown faster than almost anyone in the category. It raised a $69M Series B led by Ribbit in January 2026, and on 29 September 2026 Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire it, in a deal reported at around $2 billion and expected to close between November 2026 and January 2027.

What it does: AI-moderated interviews by video, voice or text, screen-share usability on desktop and mobile, concept, prototype and creative tests, quant question types such as MaxDiff and Gabor-Granger, and Pulse, a conversational tracker launched in August 2026. Interviews and reports run in 120+ languages.

AI: A Research Agent and Study Composer for designing studies, a Research Library across projects, ready-to-share decks, an MCP connection and a Research Skill for Claude, and a new AI interviewer released in September 2026.

How participants take part: Through a browser link, with video by permission. Mobile screen-share studies use the Listen Labs iOS app. Recruit from its own panel, which Listen Labs puts at 50M+, or bring your own.

Worth knowing: Pricing is quote only. Compliance is strong: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, ISO 42001 and GDPR. Salesforce says it will offer the capabilities through its products, including Marketing Cloud and Service Cloud, and hasn't said what standalone access will look like, so it's worth asking before a long contract.

Best for: Enterprise and tech brands running high-volume, multilingual studies, especially teams already on Salesforce.

3. Conveo: Video-First Consumer Research

Conveo was founded in Antwerp in April 2024 by Dieter De Mesmaeker and Hendrik Van Hove, went through Y Combinator, and raised a $50M Series A in September 2026 with DST Global and Balderton. It says it works with 400+ enterprises, including Unilever, AB InBev and JDE Peet's.

What it does: Async AI video and voice interviews, concept, pack, ad and claims tests with emotion and facial analysis, pricing questions such as Van Westendorp and Gabor-Granger, journaling and diaries, screen-share usability, and StoryLines, an always-on interview programme launched in July 2026. It runs in 48 languages.

How participants take part: In a browser on a computer by default, with a microphone required and the camera optional or required depending on the study. Phones are used for screen-share studies through Conveo's app.

Recruitment: No own panel. Conveo connects to Respondent, Norstat and other partner panels, or you invite your own people by list, link or QR code.

Worth knowing: Its G2 listing puts enterprise plans from $45,000 a year, prepaid, with a pay-as-you-go option for smaller teams. Conveo lists SOC 2 and ISO 27001.

Best for: CPG and FMCG brands who want video evidence of how consumers react to concepts, packs and ads.

4. Strella: AI Interviews and Usability for Product Teams

New York-based Strella, founded by Lydia Hylton and Priya Krishnan, raised a $14M Series A led by Bessemer in October 2025, a year after launching. Customers include Amazon, Chobani and Duolingo.

What it does: AI-moderated interviews, usability and prototype tests, mobile app tests, card sorts (added July 2026) and, since October 2026, human-moderated studies. Analysis includes automatic response coding and an AI chat for building highlight reels, and Strella is available as a connector in Claude and ChatGPT.

How participants take part: Browser voice or video calls. Some studies need a desktop with a webcam and screen sharing. Strella says its panel reaches up to 8M participants, with incentives paid in the platform, or you can bring your own.

Worth knowing: Pricing is on a quote. G2 rates it 4.4 out of 5 from 22 reviews.

Best for: US product, UX and consumer teams who want AI interviews and usability tests with a built-in panel.

5. Maze: Prototype Testing with an AI Moderator

Maze is a product research platform built around Figma prototype testing, with surveys, live website and mobile tests, card sorting, tree testing and automated reports.

AI: Maze's AI Moderator launched in September 2025 for AI-led interviews by voice and text, and in April 2026 it expanded to evaluative research with visual stimulus testing.

How participants take part: Through a link in the browser. Maze says its panel has over 5 million participants.

Worth knowing: There's a free plan, but AI moderation and interview studies sit on Enterprise, which is quote only.

Best for: Product and design teams who mostly test prototypes and want quick AI interviews alongside.

6. Voxpopme: Video Answers at Scale, with an AI Interviewer

Voxpopme, founded in 2013 with bases in Park City, Utah and Birmingham, UK, is built around short video responses. You can run standalone video surveys or embed video questions in a quant survey, run AI-moderated voice and video interviews, and hold live one-to-one interviews (IDIs), with a repository and showreel builder on top.

What's new: AI Moderator launched in June 2025, with Smart Probing and stimulus testing added that September. In May 2026 Voxpopme launched Compass, an AI research agent that searches past studies, builds slides and showreels, and can launch new studies.

How participants take part: In the browser on any device. Recruitment comes from Voxpopme's On Demand Community, which recruits in 27 countries, or your own customers.

Worth knowing: It's built for single-session video feedback rather than multi-day diaries. Pricing is an annual subscription on a custom quote. Reviewers like the ease of use and support, but mention the work of handling large volumes of video and uneven video quality.

Best for: Enterprise and mid-market CPG, retail and consumer tech teams who want video feedback at scale and showreels for stakeholders.

7. Glaut: Voice AI Interviews for Research Agencies

Glaut was founded in Milan in late 2023 and is built for experienced researchers rather than as a black box. It runs AI-moderated voice interviews and classic surveys on one platform, with coding, cross-tabs and reports, and agencies including Ipsos appear among its customers.

What it does: Voice AI interviews (participants can type instead), surveys, real-time coding of open ends and reports with PowerPoint export. Recent releases include Reason With Data (November 2025) and an Asset Test Loop for creative testing (February 2026), under what Glaut now calls Glaut OS.

How participants take part: Through a browser link, or embedded inside an existing survey tool, so respondents answer AI-moderated questions in the same flow. There's no own panel; it plugs into your sample provider.

Worth knowing: Glaut is ISO 27001 certified and works in 50+ languages. Pricing isn't published, and there's a free trial.

Best for: Agencies that want to add voice depth to quant surveys and keep control of the method.

8. Tellet: Voice-Note Style Interviews from Europe

Amsterdam-based Tellet was started by Merik te Grotenhuis, who previously sold CG Research to Norstat. It runs asynchronous AI interviews built around a mobile chat where participants can answer by voice, video, photo or text, and it can also drop AI probing into existing surveys.

How participants take part: A link, QR code or embed opens a mobile chat in the browser. You bring your own sample or recruit through Tellet's panel partners.

AI: An AI co-pilot for the discussion guide, one-click analysis, and AI Search for asking questions of every transcript after fieldwork.

Worth knowing: Pricing is on a quote. Tellet is GDPR compliant, lists ISO 27001 as coming soon, and supports 50+ languages.

Best for: European agencies and brands who want fast, voice-led exploratory interviews.

9. Verso: Consumer Interviews and Living Personas

Paris-based Verso, founded by Lydia Bellahouel and Camille Epitalon, raised a $6M seed round led by Angular Ventures on 8 October 2026. It works with 30+ companies including Ferrero, Orange and Michelin.

What it does: AI-moderated video and voice interviews, stimulus tests, screen-share tasks and diaries. Instead of a static report per study, Verso builds consumer personas that update as new interviews come in, alongside a Research Agent and PowerPoint generation.

How participants take part: Through a browser link with no app or account, by audio or video. Recruitment runs through partners such as Respondent, Prolific and Rakuten, or your own customers.

Worth knowing: Verso is ISO 27001 certified (April 2026) and keeps data in the EU. It works in 25+ languages. Pricing is prepaid credits on a quote.

Best for: European consumer and FMCG teams who want fast video qual and a growing picture of their consumer.

10. Discuss: Live Video Qual Plus AI Interviews

Discuss is built around live video interviews and focus groups in 100+ markets, with a client backroom, live translation and clips. Since 2025 it has added AI-moderated interviews in 50+ languages, and in November 2025 it combined with Voxco, bringing surveys under the Discuss name.

AI: AI-moderated interviews alongside live sessions, and Discuss Intelligence, a library you can search and question across studies.

How participants take part: Live sessions in the browser at a set time, or AI interviews through a link.

Best for: Teams who want live, human-moderated video qual with clients watching, and AI interviews from the same vendor. See Yazi vs Discuss.

Also Worth a Look

Remesh: Live AI-assisted sessions with hundreds of people voting on each other's answers.

Great Question: Research ops for teams interviewing their own customers, with an AI moderator and recruitment built in.

Yasna: An AI interview tool with built-in recruitment and published pay-as-you-go credit packs.

How to Choose

Start with your participants. Ask how many of the people you need would open a link, sit at a computer or switch on a camera for a research study. If it's most of them, choose on features and price. If it isn't, choose on how little you ask of them before the first answer.

• The closest like-for-like for enterprise AI interviews: Listen Labs or Strella.
• Prototype and usability testing first, interviews second: Maze or Strella.
• Video evidence of consumer reactions to concepts and ads: Conveo or Verso.
• Video answers at scale and showreels: Voxpopme.
• Agencies adding voice depth to quant surveys: Glaut or Tellet.
• Live sessions with clients watching: Discuss.
• Participants who won't open a link, studies that run over days, or a mobile-first audience: Yazi.

For the wider category, see the best AI-moderated interview tools, and for how the three best-funded platforms compare, Outset vs Listen Labs vs Conveo.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best alternative to Outset?

For enterprise AI interviews with a large built-in panel, Listen Labs or Strella. For prototype testing, Maze. For video-first consumer research, Conveo. For AI interviews, diaries and surveys answered in WhatsApp rather than a browser link, Yazi.

Does Outset have its own panel?

Outset doesn't run its own panel. Recruitment is built in through 25+ partner panels such as Prolific and User Interviews, or you bring your own participants. Yazi, Listen Labs, Strella, Voxpopme and Maze all have panels of their own.

Does Outset run diary studies?

Yes, since August 2026. Yazi, Verso and Conveo also support diaries or journaling over several days.

How much does Outset cost?

Outset prices its subscriptions on a custom quote and doesn't publish rates. Of the alternatives here, Yasna publishes pay-as-you-go credit packs, and Conveo's G2 listing puts enterprise plans from $45,000 a year.

Competitor details come from each vendor's website, release notes, help centre and review listings, and from funding news, checked in October 2026. Products change quickly, so confirm current features and prices with the vendor. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@askyazi.com.