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An Open-Ended question 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 questions 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 question type is perfect for concept testing, gathering improvement suggestions, or understanding how people perceive your product or idea.

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When should I use an Open-Ended question?

Open-Ended questions 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?”

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How to create an Open-Ended question

Setting up an Open-Ended question takes just a few steps:
  1. Start a new survey – click New survey in the left sidebar
  2. Choose Open-Ended – select it from the Feedback section of the question type menu
  3. Upload your content – add text, an image, video, audio, or URL
  4. 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?”
  5. Target your audience – choose demographics that match your target market
  6. Preview and launch – review your survey, then launch to start collecting feedback
Respondents will view your content and provide detailed written feedback in response to your question.

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How to read your Open-Ended question results

Once your survey 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.

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Frequently asked questions

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Can I test multiple options in an Open-Ended question?

No, Open-Ended questions evaluate one concept at a time. To compare options, use Head-to-Head, Ranked, Single Select, or Multi Select questions.

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What content formats can I test?

Open-Ended questions support text, URLs, images, image sets, videos, audio files, and product mockups.

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How is Open-Ended different from other question types?

Open-Ended questions collect only written feedback – no voting or ranking. Similar to 5-Second Tests, they collect purely qualitative data. Other question types (Single Select, Ranked, Star Rating, etc.) include both votes or ratings and written explanations.

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When should I use Open-Ended vs. other feedback surveys?

Use Open-Ended for pure qualitative feedback on one concept. Use a Star Rating survey if you want a quantifiable score plus comments. Use a Click Test if you want to see where people focus visually on an image.
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