An Open-Ended poll asks respondents for detailed written feedback on a single concept, design, or idea. Use it when you need qualitative insights without voting or ranking – just honest, unstructured reactions from your target audience.
Open-Ended polls focus entirely on written responses. You share one piece of content (text, image, video, or URL) and ask respondents to tell you what they think.
This poll type is perfect for concept testing, gathering improvement suggestions, or understanding how people perceive your product or idea.
When should I use an Open-Ended poll?
Open-Ended polls work best when you need detailed feedback rather than comparative data. They're ideal for:
Concept validation – does your idea resonate with your target market?
Product feedback – what do potential customers think of your listing or design?
First impressions – what questions or concerns come to mind when people see your product?
Improvement discovery – what would make your offering more appealing?
Message testing – how do people interpret your marketing copy or value proposition?
Choose Open-Ended when you want purely qualitative insights. Instead of asking "which is better," you're asking "what do you think?"
How to create an Open-Ended poll
Setting up an Open-Ended poll takes just a few steps:
Start a new poll – click the New poll button from your dashboard
Choose Open-Ended – select it from the question type menu (or simply add one option/no options)
Upload your content – add text, an image, video, audio, or URL
Write your question – ask something like "What questions do you have about this product?" or "Based on the logo, what do you think this company does?"
Target your audience – choose demographics that match your target market
Preview and launch – review your poll, then launch to start collecting feedback
Respondents will view your content and provide detailed written feedback in response to your question.
How to read your Open-Ended poll results
Once your poll completes, you'll see:
Written responses – detailed feedback from each respondent explaining their thoughts, impressions, and suggestions
AI Insights – an AI-powered report highlighting key themes and patterns across responses, plus actionable recommendations on what to do next
Look for recurring themes in the feedback – common questions, concerns, or praise points indicate areas to address or emphasize. Open-Ended results are qualitative, so focus on understanding the "why" behind people's reactions.
Frequently asked questions
Can I test multiple options in an Open-Ended poll?
No, Open-Ended polls evaluate one concept at a time. To compare options, use Head-to-Head, Ranked, Single Select, or Multi Select polls.
What content formats can I test?
Open-Ended polls support text, URLs, images, image sets, videos, audio files, and product mockups.
How is Open-Ended different from other poll types?
Open-Ended polls collect only written feedback – no voting or ranking. Similar to 5-Second Tests, they collect purely qualitative data. Other poll types (Single Select, Ranked, Star Rating, etc.) include both votes or ratings and written explanations.
When should I use Open-Ended vs. other feedback polls?
Use Open-Ended for pure qualitative feedback on one concept. Use a Star Rating poll if you want a quantifiable score plus comments. Use a Click Test if you want to see where people focus visually on an image.