Will AI Replace Humans in User Research?

Not to be confused with Dovetail’s insightful piece pondering the question of whether AI will replace human user research subjects, one of the top concerns we hear at Outset from researchers who are hesitant to try AI is whether it will take their job. Let me save you some time (a little taste of what Outset can do for you) and say this resoundingly: IT WON’T.

Any platform that claims AI will fully replace user researchers is either misleading to capitalize on research budgets or lacks a deep enough understanding of the field to be a credible authority.

​​There’s no question that LLMs can do some of the work that humans do—a lot faster and at a much larger scale. But in user research, they are best applied to the laborious tasks involved in interviews that researchers have always had to complete before getting to the good part: turning insights into impact.

AI as a Research Partner, Not a Replacement

Historically, AI in research has been limited to automating transcription, tagging themes, and speeding up synthesis. But today, tools like Outset have expanded the definition of its role in research:

• Conducting live interviews with fluid, natural responses at scale

• Asking smart follow-up questions based on context and sentiment

• Synthesizing findings instantly, making insights available faster than ever

These advancements mean LLMs aren't just handling busywork anymore—they’re becoming an active participant in research. AI-powered interviews now engage users in meaningful conversations, capturing deeper insights without requiring researchers to moderate every session manually.

Let’s not forget that humans will still be conducting research, though. AI is great for handling complex tasks at scale, but it’s similar to third party research in many ways. As the researcher, you relinquish some control and flexibility when handing your research guide to someone else and, like a third party researcher, the LLM may get things wrong:

• Miss opportunities to follow up

• Probe for data you don’t find useful

• Incorrectly skip questions based on a previous answer

That’s why AI works best as a research partner—not a replacement.

Why Human Researchers Still Matter

LLMs are not going to generate the “what” to go research. You still need humans for the foundational work of research. That’s not just in the study design stage, but in forming the questions too. There’s nothing more skilled at asking the right questions than a seasoned user researcher. An AI-interviewer can certainly conduct a good interview, but it needs a good question guide to uncover a wealth of actionable data. A ship is only as good as its captain, after all.

User researchers are also important to specific situations. LLMs are good for gathering and digesting huge amounts of time, which keeps researchers feeling fresh and ready to step in when it’s time to conduct smaller, more targeted studies. Other times the interview may call for an interviewer to set the tone. A researcher with some experience can use intuition to guide an interview, increasing interview flexibility while remaining in control.

Context matters, too. Two users might give identical answers, but the meaning behind their responses could be completely different. A human researcher picks up on hesitations, contradictions, and nonverbal cues—things AI struggles to interpret beyond surface-level sentiment analysis.

For example, an AI interviewer might detect frustration in a user’s tone but fail to understand why. A human researcher, on the other hand, might notice that the frustration isn’t with the product itself but with the way the question was framed, leading to an entirely different interpretation of the response. It’s good practice to have a human overseeing the interpretation process to ensure the AI’s analysis is turned into quality findings.

AI is eliminating the logistical and analytical bottlenecks that slow researchers down—so they can focus on what makes them invaluable: creativity, strategic thinking, and advocacy for users.

The Human Element: What AI Can’t Do (Yet)

It’s still up for debate whether AI will ever be able to create novel, underived ideas that stem from user research results. It’s great at spotting patterns and making connections, but innovation requires intuition, deep contextual understanding, and a little personality—things AI simply doesn’t have.

Humans are fickle creatures, and it really takes one to know one. LLMs are great at telling researchers what people are saying, but discovering the “what” is only half the job. All that data needs to tell a compelling story and that’s done best on a human level. Humans will still be in demand even as AI seems to blur the line because at the end of the day, humans are both the end users and the ones running the companies.

AI-Powered Research Means More Human Insights

Instead of reducing the need for researchers, AI is increasing the demand for human insight by making research more accessible, scalable, and continuous.

With AI-powered research tools, companies can:

• Conduct in-depth studies at scale without ballooning research costs

• Incorporate research into more stages of design and development

• Reach more diverse user groups in more languages and regions

• Make research an ongoing, iterative process instead of a one-time study

The result? More research happening more often.

Before AI, research was often constrained by limited resources, time, and team bandwidth. But now, companies can run more studies, test more hypotheses, and gather more perspectives—without overwhelming researchers.

That’s a win for everyone involved:

• Users get better products that actually reflect their needs

• Researchers get to focus on deeper, more strategic work

• Companies gain a stronger competitive edge through continuous insights

By removing barriers to research, AI is expanding the role of user insights across organizations—not eliminating the people behind them.

Reframing the Question

So instead of asking, “Will AI replace user researchers?”, a better question is:

“How can researchers use AI to amplify their impact?”

The best researchers aren’t fighting AI—they’re using it to do more research, better and faster. A great researcher isn’t just someone who gathers insights—they are storytellers, strategists, and advocates. AI can’t replace that. The real risk isn’t AI taking your job. It’s not using AI and getting left behind.