Enhancing User Engagement Through AI-Driven Polls & Surveys

0 MIN READ • Michael Carroll on Oct 2, 2023

Enhancing User Engagement with AI-Driven Polls

We recently released a study that found 36% of the 600 respondents plan to add artificial intelligence (AI) to their existing applications. In comparison, 25% intend to develop new AI-related apps in the next 8-12 months. (You can download your free copy here.)

In May 2023, Gartner’s survey of 2,500 executives revealed that ChatGPT prompted increased AI investments, with improving user experience as the top reason, not cost optimization. This shift highlights AI's potential to enhance user experiences, especially in apps. One promising area is using AI-powered polls and surveys to understand user needs.

Let’s explore what’s ahead.

The digital transformation of polls and surveys: From analog to apps

Polls and surveys have long been trusted tools for gathering user opinions, even before the internet. While online survey systems have made data collection easier, app companies still face significant challenges in conducting and interpreting live audience polling effectively:

Lack of personalization: Companies could disseminate surveys to groups of app users, but micro-targeting and micro-segmentation weren’t practical from a cost or execution standpoint.
Low engagement rates: A compelling 2021 micro-survey (before the mainstream adoption of business AI tools) noted that most surveys lacked the empathy and customization that encouraged users to complete them. The result? Low engagement and skewed or even misleading results.
Reliance on manual processes: Creating and executing app surveys traditionally requires heavy intervention from human teams, even when some measure of automation is involved. Automation options tend not to be “enough” regarding personalization, targeting, and timeliness.

Despite the rise of apps, collecting feedback through polls and surveys has remained challenging, as companies still face the same issues as paper, phone, or email surveys. Users must be motivated to complete them, and many app surveys fail to engage effectively.

However, there’s good news. With the growth of AI-powered tools, app companies can move beyond traditional survey methods. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT enable a more agile, responsive, and personalized survey approach, without overwhelming teams or breaking the IT budget. Welcome to the era of AI-driven, in-app feedback.

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Why AI-powered app surveys are the future of user engagement

Generative AI is unlocking a wealth of opportunities to enhance polls and surveys, delivering them directly within the app, the most convenient platform for users. This transformation involves improvements in both the survey creation process and user interaction. By integrating PubNub technologies for live data synchronization, these advancements are significantly amplified. Here’s how AI is reshaping app-based surveys:

Personalized Experiences: AI-driven content creation enables the dynamic crafting of surveys tailored to individual users, based on their behaviors, app interactions, and past survey responses. With PubNub's real-time messaging, responses can be instantly processed, ensuring the poll stays relevant and personalized to each user.
Instant Question Creation: Traditional survey development can take weeks, with insights arriving months later. AI, in combination with PubNub's real-time data streaming, allows questions to be generated on the spot, directly as users engage with the app. This helps target specific user interests and enhances response rates by keeping the experience interactive and timely.
Engaging Multimodal Surveys: Instead of relying on lengthy, static question lists, AI allows surveys to be presented through more engaging methods like visuals, videos, storytelling, and gamified elements. This reduces user fatigue and makes the survey experience more enjoyable. Thanks to PubNub, survey responses and content updates are instantly shared across all devices, keeping everything synchronized in real time.
Global Reach with Multilingual Support: With a growing global user base, AI enables the creation of multilingual surveys, delivering content in the user’s preferred language. This eliminates the need for expensive translation services. PubNub's live capabilities ensure these surveys can be delivered seamlessly across borders, making the process efficient and scalable.

AI-enhanced surveys, combined with PubNub's live data synchronization and communication tools, are transforming how businesses gather feedback, enabling them to engage users in a more tailored, efficient, and dynamic way.

Once users answer the app poll or survey, AI can also support teams to parse those results, enabling:

Actionable insights: Rather than returning with a wall of raw data, AI can uncover patterns and analyze information in real time, delivering actionable insights and next steps for data-driven decision-making.
Continuous improvement: AI can also learn from each app survey iteration, helping craft more effective polls and surveys in the future, increasing app engagement over time.
Predictive analytics and survey modeling: AI can also simulate survey results based on historical user data. Businesses can experiment “virtually” with different decisions, business changes, new features, and even specific app survey questions. This allows companies to take a proactive stance in user engagement.

AI can intelligently enhance in-app surveys and polls, creating a comprehensive user engagement strategy rather than the dreaded “crickets” of traditional survey methodologies.

Transforming app experiences with AI-powered surveys and polls

Where can app companies apply AI-powered surveys? Several compelling use cases emerge when it comes to user engagement.

Feature prioritization: Every app is a bundle of features, but discerning which ones deliver the most value is tricky. AI can wade through the noise to help developers determine where to spend their resources and what to phase out. It can also help predict the next big feature before users even ask.
User interface (UI) design: AI can gather feedback for elements in the user interface to help improve the design and create intuitive user experiences.
Bug prioritization: AI can help developers prioritize troubleshooting and ensure they address the most critical issues in their apps first. It can also help developers detect bottlenecks in any app or experience.
Usability testing: Dynamic surveys can evaluate how users navigate apps, determine the most valuable features, and uncover trouble spots.
User preferences: AI-powered surveys embedded in the app can help companies determine what content users wish to see and can gauge user reactions to content types. It can even simulate how users are likely to respond to changes. This also includes onboarding processes. AI-driven surveys can customize a user’s onboarding journey based on personalized questions and analysis.
Subscription models and pricing: Monetizing an app is a continual balance. With AI-driven surveys, businesses can understand what features users will pay for, how much, and what pricing model (subscription vs. one-time purchases) users prefer.

The future of polls and surveys lies in artificial intelligence

AI allows companies to reinvent their user interactions through in-app surveys and polls. Thoughtful implementation could improve engagement, deliver more profound insights into user preferences, and help companies craft dynamic and unforgettable user experiences with each app iteration. Leveraging AI to cut through the noise and process results transforms surveys from a laborious task to a fundamental piece in the user engagement puzzle — one that has the power to deliver real-time insights and ensure more willing participation.

The PubNub platform offers in-app social interactions that redefine the user survey. You can onboard as many users as necessary, create smooth live events, and create engaging experiences through real-time polls, surveys, and voting. PubNub allows you to confidently integrate cutting-edge generative AI tools — including apps and surveys — into your app.