How to gather real-time customer insights with Live Conversation

In today’s fast-moving digital landscape, understanding customer needs in real-time is critical to delivering seamless experiences. Whether you're refining an ecommerce checkout flow, improving a mobile app, or optimizing an onboarding process, gathering direct feedback from real customers can help you make informed decisions faster.

Businesses achieve this through Live Conversation, UserTesting’s live user interview feature that allows teams to speak directly with customers. This real-time engagement helps teams uncover why customers behave the way they do—not just what they do.

But how do you know when to use moderated (Live Conversation) vs. unmoderated (self-guided) research? And how are leading brands using Live Conversation to improve their products and services? Let’s explore.

Moderated vs. unmoderated research: When to use each approach

Before diving into real-world examples, it’s important to understand when to choose moderated studies vs. unmoderated tests.

When to use Live Conversation

Live Conversation allows you to interact with participants in real time, asking follow-up questions and diving deeper into their thoughts. This is ideal for:

• Exploratory research: When you want to understand customer needs, behaviors, or pain points before designing a solution.
• Complex experiences: When testing a process that requires guidance, such as account setup or financial transactions.
• Concept testing: When gauging reactions to early-stage ideas, prototypes, or new product directions.
• Deeper emotional insights: To understand why customers feel frustrated, delighted, or hesitant about an experience.

When to use unmoderated (self-guided) testing

Unmoderated testing is a great option for fast, scalable insights without real-time interaction. This is best for:

• Benchmarking usability: Benchmark results when measuring task completion rates, time-on-task, or click patterns.
• A/B testing: When comparing variations of a design or copy.
• Quick feedback loops: When gathering rapid responses on specific product elements, like button placement or page layouts.

Now, let’s explore how UserTesting customers use Live Conversation to drive impactful change.

How brands leverage Live Conversation for fast insights

HelloFresh: Improving the meal kit experience

HelloFresh, a leader in meal kit delivery, uses Live Conversation to understand how customers interact with their digital and physical experiences. They speak directly with users to explore:

• How customers navigate their website and select meals.
• What they expect from the unboxing and cooking process.
• How they perceive the value and convenience of the service.

By engaging in real-time discussions, HelloFresh gathers rich qualitative insights that help refine everything from their website’s meal selection process to packaging improvements—ensuring customers enjoy a seamless experience from browsing to cooking.

Watch below to hear more from the HelloFresh team.

Remote video URL

AAA: Enhancing the roadside assistance experience

AAA leverages Live Conversation to improve its mobile app and digital services. By speaking directly with members, the team identifies:

• Common pain points in requesting roadside assistance.
• How users interact with their digital membership benefits.
• Ways to streamline the app experience to reduce frustration.

Live Conversation enables AAA to quickly test new app features, ensuring their digital tools align with customer expectations—especially in high-stress roadside situations where ease of use is critical.

Watch below to learn more about AAA's success.

Remote video URL

T. Rowe Price: Gaining deeper insights into investor needs

As a financial services company, T. Rowe Price uses Live Conversation to better understand how customers interact with their website and make investment decisions. This helps them:

• Identify areas where investors struggle to find key resources.
• Improve the onboarding experience for new customers.
• Refine digital tools that help users manage their accounts more effectively.

By speaking directly with investors, T. Rowe Price can make informed improvements that enhance clarity, ease of use, and trust in their digital offerings.

Watch below to learn more about T. Rowe Price's success.

Remote video URL

Creative ways customers have used Live Conversation

Beyond standard usability testing, some brands have found unique ways to use Live Conversation to uncover deeper insights:

• HelloFresh tested unboxing experiences: By watching customers open meal kits in real time, they uncovered packaging pain points they hadn’t anticipated.
• AAA observed users requesting roadside assistance: By simulating emergency situations, they saw how stress affected app navigation.
• T. Rowe Price had investors explain their thought process: By asking users to narrate their decision-making process while researching financial products, they refined content clarity.

These creative approaches show that Live Conversation isn’t just about usability—it’s about understanding the why behind customer behaviors.

Real-time feedback doesn’t have to slow you down

Many teams assume that gathering rich customer insights takes weeks or even months. But Live Conversation allows brands to gain fast, high-quality feedback without slowing down development.

By integrating real-time customer conversations into the product development cycle, companies can:

• Validate ideas before investing in costly changes
• Uncover friction points that data alone can’t reveal
• Make informed decisions that lead to better customer experiences