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Yazi vs Listen Labs compared: browser vs WhatsApp interviews, panel, diaries, human takeover and the Salesforce deal, so you can pick the right platform.
Listen Labs is an enterprise AI interview platform with a large panel, 120+ languages and polished reporting, and Salesforce has agreed to buy it. Yazi runs AI interviews, diaries and surveys inside WhatsApp, with a researcher able to step in.
Book a 15-min demo →The short version: Listen Labs, founded in San Francisco in 2023, runs AI-moderated interviews by video, voice or text at large scale, with screen-share usability, concept and creative tests, MaxDiff and a conversational tracker. It holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and ISO 42001. On 29 September 2026 Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire it, with the deal expected to close between November 2026 and January 2027.
Yazi works differently. The study runs in WhatsApp, so participants reply by text, voice note, photo or video in a chat they already use, with no link to open and no camera to switch on. The AI follows up on every answer, a researcher can take over any conversation live, and the same study can run a survey, AI interviews and a diary over days.
A tick marks the platform with the edge on that row. Details from each company's public website and announcements, October 2026.
| Listen Labs | Yazi | |
|---|---|---|
| Where participants take part | Browser link; iOS app for mobile screen share | ✓Inside WhatsApp, with no app or login |
| How people answer | Video, voice or text | Text, voice notes, photos or video |
| Methods | AI interviews, usability, concept and creative tests, MaxDiff, Pulse tracker | AI interviews, surveys, multi-day diaries and WhatsApp group discussions |
| Screen-share usability | ✓Yes, desktop and mobile | Not built for screen-share testing |
| Human takeover | Not found on its site | ✓A researcher can take over any conversation live |
| Languages | ✓120+ | Native moderation in English, isiZulu, Swahili, French, Portuguese and more; AI translation across 100+ |
| Own panel | 50M+, or your own | 1.8M+ with reach in 25+ countries, or your own |
| Ownership | Being acquired by Salesforce | ✓Independent |
| Certifications and compliance | ✓SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, 27701, 42001, GDPR | POPIA, GDPR and CCPA; hosted on AWS in the UK and Ireland |
Listen Labs participants open a link and answer an AI interviewer in the browser, usually by voice or on camera. Yazi participants get the study as WhatsApp messages and reply however suits them, with reminders in the same chat, which is why studies hold a 90% completion rate.
Listen Labs is built for large multilingual studies with ready-to-share decks, a research library and a large panel. Yazi produces themes as answers arrive, an editable executive summary, cross-tabs and highlight reels from participants' own voice notes and videos.
Listen Labs is built around the single interview and its tracker. Yazi runs multi-day diaries, product trials and usage journeys, mixing AI interviews, surveys and photo or video tasks in one WhatsApp thread.
Salesforce plans to offer Listen Labs through its own products, including Marketing Cloud and Service Cloud, and hasn't said what standalone access will look like. Yazi is independent and works alongside whatever CRM you use.
If you need large multilingual AI interview studies with screen-share usability and enterprise certifications, and Salesforce ownership suits you, Listen Labs is a strong choice. If you want people to answer in their own way, or to follow them over days, Yazi is built for that.
“Yazi let us engage Gen Z on their preferred platform, WhatsApp, and the AI interviewer surfaced depth we hadn't captured with traditional methods.”
Yes. Salesforce signed a definitive agreement on 29 September 2026, in a deal reported at around $2 billion, expected to close between November 2026 and January 2027.
For AI interviews, diaries and surveys where participants should answer in WhatsApp by text, voice or video, and for mobile-first audiences, yes. For screen-share usability tests and very large multilingual studies with a built-in enterprise panel, Listen Labs is the better fit.
Yes. A researcher can step into any conversation live and hand it back to the AI, and group discussions can be run by a human or the AI.
Not screen-share usability testing. Yazi is built for AI interviews, diaries, surveys and group discussions in WhatsApp.
A 15-minute demo, your use case, real numbers.
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