Surveys are created from the project screen. Open your project and click + CREATE SURVEY in the Surveys section — the same button also appears in place of the list when the project has no surveys yet. The Create Survey dialog then walks you through up to four steps: how the survey gets written, how it looks to respondents, the survey details, and media. On the second and third steps a back arrow in the dialog title returns you to the previous step, and Close dismisses the dialog.
Step 1 — How do you want to write your Survey?
The first step shows four cards, one per creation route:
- I want AI to help me write my survey — provide a survey brief, including the audience you want to survey and the problems you're trying to solve, and the platform writes the survey for you. Choose this when you have research objectives but no questionnaire yet.
- Use the survey I've already written — paste the text of a Word or Google Doc into the platform and let AI program all survey questions and logic. Choose this when the questionnaire already exists and you want it programmed faithfully rather than rewritten.
- Copy a Survey I've Used Before — make a copy of a survey you've used before, completing any dynamic blocks and uploading the new media. This is the route for trackers and repeat studies.
- I want to program my own survey — if you're proficient in Python and want to program your survey from scratch, this is the place to be. You get the code editor directly, preloaded with a starter survey.
Step 2 — How do you want your survey to look?
Next you choose the respondent experience:
- Traditional Forms Based Survey — best for surveys with lots of grids.
- Chat Based Survey Experience — best for surveys taken on mobile devices or with younger audiences.
Both styles work on desktop and mobile; the difference is how questions are laid out on screen. For guidance on choosing, see Traditional or Chat based survey experience?
Step 3 — the survey details
What the third step asks for depends on the route you picked. The three new-survey routes share a common set of fields: Survey Name, Project, Total Respondents (the number of respondents required to complete the survey), Survey language, Estimated Incidence Rate (the percentage of respondents expected to complete the survey), Markets (where the survey can be fielded), and Supported Languages for the respondent experience.
Below those fields:
- On the AI routes, a Survey Description editor holds your brief or your pasted questionnaire, with guidance alongside on what to include — business objectives and target audiences for a brief; quotas and the number of respondents for a pasted document.
- On the program-it-yourself route, a Python code editor replaces the description, preloaded with a default survey that includes a standard demographic screener you can build on.
Click Save to create the survey.
Copying a survey looks different: enter a New Survey Name, pick the destination Project, then find the survey to copy in the searchable Surveys list and tick its Select checkbox. The list shows each survey's name, status, and respondent counts. Click Copy — the button stays disabled until a name, project, and source survey are all set.
Step 4 — Upload Media and set Metadata of Media
After the survey is created or copied, the dialog moves to a media step. Drag in any images or videos the survey uses, or click to browse (PNG, JPG, and Video only), and, if you need per-media metadata, add columns with a Column Name and Column Type (Text, Number, True / False, or State). This step matters most for copied surveys, where you'll typically replace the previous wave's media — for example, swapping in the new ad creative while keeping the survey itself identical. If you want to add more, you can always upload it later. Click Save to finish.
What happens after creation
The new survey appears in the project's Surveys list with a processing status — Programming your survey or Updating — while the platform programs the questionnaire, checks each question, and builds reports. When it finishes, the status changes to Ready to field.
Before fielding, open the survey and work through the Go live checklist — the checklist icon in the survey editor tracks outstanding review items and shows how many are done. Take the survey yourself with a test link to confirm the logic and flow; see Testing and Reviewing Your Survey for the full review workflow.