Skip to main content
A concept test puts something in front of participants and captures what they make of it. Instead of asking someone to imagine a feature, you show them the mockup, the ad, or the pricing page, and the moderator probes on the reaction in their own words.

​
When to use concept testing

Use a concept test when you want someone’s reaction to something, not a record of how they used it. That’s the line between this and a prototype test. If the question is “what do people make of this?”, it’s a concept test. If it’s “where do people get stuck?”, you want a prototype test, which captures their clicks and interactions as they work through it.

Visual designs

Compare two homepage mockups, validate a new icon set, or get reactions to a redesigned dashboard before you build it.

Feature concepts

Show wireframes or annotated screens of a feature you’re considering and learn whether participants understand the value.

Marketing copy

Test headlines, value propositions, or ad creative to find which framing resonates.

Packaging and pricing

Get unprompted reactions to packaging, a pricing page, or a plan comparison before it goes live.

​
What you can attach

Each Concept Test study supports two kinds of assets, both added in Customize Plan while you work with Charles: Attach as many of each as you need. Every asset has a label the moderator uses to refer to it, so labels should describe what the participant is about to see.

​
Attaching images

1

Open Add attachment

In Step 2, click the paperclip in the chat’s message box. The Add attachment dialog opens.
2

Add your images

Drag files into the dialog or click to browse. Supported formats are PNG, JPEG, GIF, and WebP, up to 10 MB each. You can add several at once.
3

Label each one

Every image needs a label before you can add it: something short and descriptive, such as Homepage v2 or Pricing page — control. The moderator uses this label when introducing the image to the participant.
4

Send them with your next message

The images are staged in the chat and upload when you send your next message to Charles. Previous images stay in place.
Labels must be unique within a study. Uploading an image with a label that already exists replaces the existing image (case-insensitive match). To keep both, use distinct labels like Homepage A and Homepage B.

​
Removing an image

Before you send, remove a staged image from the chat. After it’s uploaded, ask Charles to remove it.
Use concept links when what you want a reaction to lives on a page rather than in an image, such as a draft landing page, a demo video, or a hosted mockup.
1

Paste the link into the chat

In Step 2, paste the full URL into your message to Charles.
2

Say what it is

Tell Charles what the link shows so he can label it clearly, such as Pricing page — variant B or Launch video. As with images, labels are unique per study and reusing a label replaces that link’s URL.
3

Add login details if asked

If the page looks like it needs a login, a Login details dialog opens and the chat pauses until you Save login details or Skip for now.
Make sure participants can reach every link. If it has view permissions, open them to anyone with the link. For a page behind a login, the Login details dialog takes a username, password, and optional note. Participants see them, with copy buttons, when the page opens during their interview. Use a throwaway or demo account, since the password is visible to participants and appears in the screen recording. To remove a link, ask Charles to delete it.
Concept links rule out chat. Once a study has concept links, the Chat interview format and Synthetic recruiting are unavailable, and Test with AI is hidden in step 5. Use voice or video.

​
How participants experience concepts

The moderator decides when to surface each concept based on how the conversation is going. Two things happen on the participant’s side:
  • Images appear inline as soon as the moderator chooses to show them. The participant can refer back to the image as they answer follow-ups.
  • Links are presented through a banner prompting the participant to open the page, or to share their screen so the moderator can guide them through it. Once it’s open, the conversation continues around what they’re looking at.
Concept tests always capture the screen alongside the conversation, so you can see what the participant was looking at when they said what they said. Whether you also see their face depends on the interview format you chose. A concept test in voice format records audio and screen without ever asking for the camera. Choose video format if the participant’s expression is part of what you’re testing.

​
Set concepts up well

How the moderator handles concepts shapes how you should prepare them:

Label them for the moderator

The moderator reads your labels aloud and uses them to decide what to show next. Pricing page — variant B works; image2 doesn’t.

Order matters

Concepts are generally shown in the order you upload them. Put the most important one first so it gets the most attention in a short session.

Three to five is plenty

More than that fragments the conversation and cuts the time spent on each one.

Keep links light

A single page or a short video works well. If it takes thirty clicks to get through, it belongs in a prototype test.
Build two things into the plan itself: ask for first impressions before context, so you capture an unprompted reaction before explaining what the thing is; and if you’re testing variants, attach both and have the moderator ask participants to compare them directly rather than rating each in isolation.

​
Frequently asked questions

No. Images render inside the interview surface, and links open in a new tab in whatever browser the participant is already using.
Yes. Uploading an image or adding a link with the same label replaces the existing entry, so you can swap a concept mid-study. Completed interviews still reflect the version that was live at the time.
Yes. The transcript records what the participant said about each concept, and the recording captures their on-screen reactions. The study report and Intelligence Hub treat that material like any other interview content.

​
Next steps

Prototype Test

Watch people use a prototype or live site instead.

Customize Plan

Attach your concepts while you build the plan with Charles.