{"site":{"name":"Koji","description":"AI-native customer research platform that helps teams conduct, analyze, and synthesize customer interviews at scale.","url":"https://www.koji.so","contentTypes":["blog","documentation"],"lastUpdated":"2026-05-18T13:48:03.021Z"},"content":[{"type":"documentation","id":"a2b3f2c0-eb23-4d08-871a-436575489fd9","slug":"intake-forms-and-consent","title":"Intake Forms and Consent","url":"https://www.koji.so/docs/intake-forms-and-consent","summary":"Intake forms collect participant information before the interview starts. Configure text, email, phone, dropdown, textarea, and checkbox fields with labels, placeholders, required flags, and help text. Pre-fill from CSV imports and collect research consent.","content":"Intake forms let you collect information from participants before the interview starts. You can gather names, email addresses, and custom fields — or skip the form entirely for fully anonymous interviews. The form appears after the participant clicks a start button on the [landing page](/docs/interview-landing-page) and before the conversation begins.\n\n## When to Use an Intake Form\n\nIntake forms are useful when you need to:\n\n- **Identify participants** — collect name and email for follow-up or record-keeping\n- **Segment responses** — ask about role, company size, or other attributes to slice your data later\n- **Gather consent** — include a checkbox for research consent or terms acknowledgment\n- **Pre-qualify participants** — use a dropdown to confirm they meet your criteria before the interview begins\n\nIf you do not need any of this, you can disable the intake form entirely. Participants will go straight from the landing page to the interview.\n\n## Configuring Your Intake Form\n\nOpen your project and navigate to the **Customize** tab. The intake form settings are in the **Lead Form** section of the editor.\n\n### Enabling the Form\n\nToggle the lead form on or off. When disabled, participants skip directly to the interview after clicking a start button.\n\n### Form Header\n\nYou can customize the form's title and description:\n\n- **Title** — displayed at the top of the form (e.g., \"Before we begin\" or \"Tell us about yourself\")\n- **Description** — a short paragraph below the title explaining why you are collecting this information\n- **Submit button text** — the text on the form's submit button (defaults to \"Continue\")\n\n### Adding Fields\n\nClick **Add Field** to create a new form field. Each field has the following properties:\n\n| Property | Description |\n|---|---|\n| **Label** | The text shown above the input (e.g., \"Your Name\", \"Email Address\") |\n| **Type** | The input type — determines what kind of control is rendered |\n| **Placeholder** | Hint text shown inside the input before the participant types |\n| **Required** | Whether the participant must fill in this field to proceed |\n| **Help Text** | Optional explanatory text displayed below the field to provide additional guidance or context |\n| **Options** | For dropdown (select) fields only — the list of choices available in the menu |\n\n### Available Field Types\n\nKoji supports several field types to handle different kinds of information:\n\n| Type | What It Renders | Best For |\n|---|---|---|\n| **Text** | A single-line text input | Names, short answers |\n| **Email** | A text input with email validation | Email addresses |\n| **Phone** | A text input for phone numbers | Contact numbers |\n| **Long Text** (Textarea) | A multi-line text area | Comments, detailed responses |\n| **Dropdown** (Select) | A dropdown menu with predefined options | Role selection, categories, segments |\n| **Checkbox** | A single checkbox | Consent, agreements, opt-ins |\n\n### Field Order\n\nYou can reorder fields by dragging them using the grip handle on the left side of each field row. Place the most important fields first — participants are more likely to complete forms when the easy fields (like name) come before the more involved ones (like a long text comment).\n\n### Required vs. Optional Fields\n\nMark fields as required when you absolutely need the information to proceed. Keep required fields to a minimum — every required field adds friction and may reduce your completion rate.\n\nA common setup is:\n- **Name** — required (so you can address them in the conversation)\n- **Email** — optional (for follow-up, but not blocking)\n- **Consent checkbox** — required (if you need explicit research consent)\n\n## Consent Collection\n\nFor formal research, you may need to collect explicit consent before the interview. The checkbox field type is designed for this.\n\n**Example consent field:**\n- **Label:** \"I agree to participate in this research study and understand my responses will be analyzed\"\n- **Type:** Checkbox\n- **Required:** Yes\n\nParticipants must check the box before they can proceed to the interview. This creates a clear record that consent was given.\n\nFor more detailed consent requirements, you can:\n\n- Use the footer text on the landing page to display full consent language (configurable in [Customizing Branding](/docs/customizing-branding))\n- Add a link to a consent document in the field label or landing page description\n- Combine a consent checkbox with a long text field where participants can ask questions\n\n## Pre-Filling from CSV Import\n\nWhen participants arrive via a unique tracking link from a [CSV import](/docs/importing-participants-csv), their data is pre-filled into the intake form automatically. For example, if your CSV includes `name` and `email` columns and your form has matching fields, those fields will already be populated when the form loads.\n\nParticipants can still edit pre-filled values if needed, but in most cases they simply review the information and click to proceed.\n\n## How Intake Data Is Stored\n\nAll intake form responses are stored alongside the participant's interview record. You can see intake data in:\n\n- **The respondents table** — each participant's form responses appear in their row\n- **Exported results** — intake data is included when you export interviews as CSV or JSON\n- **The interview detail view** — form responses appear in the participant's profile section\n\nIntake data is never shared with other participants or made public. It is accessible only to the study owner.\n\n## Form Validation\n\nKoji validates form submissions in real time:\n\n- **Required fields** are checked before the form can be submitted. If a required field is empty, an error message appears.\n- **Email fields** are validated for correct format using a regex pattern (must contain @ and a domain).\n- **Checkbox required fields** must be checked to proceed.\n\nValidation messages appear inline next to the relevant field, so participants can quickly see what needs to be corrected.\n\n## Tips for Effective Intake Forms\n\n1. **Keep it short.** Every additional field reduces your completion rate. Only ask for what you truly need.\n2. **Put name first.** Collecting the participant's name allows the AI interviewer to address them personally during the conversation, which builds rapport.\n3. **Make email optional unless essential.** If you do not plan to follow up with participants, skip the email field entirely.\n4. **Use dropdowns for segmentation.** If you want to analyze results by segment (e.g., role, department, or company size), a dropdown is cleaner than a free-text field.\n5. **Use help text for clarity.** Add help text below fields that might be ambiguous — for example, explaining what counts as a \"primary role\" or what format you expect for phone numbers.\n6. **Lead with the easiest fields.** Name and email are quick to fill in. Place them before longer or more complex fields.\n7. **Test the form yourself.** Click your own interview link and go through the intake form to make sure everything works as expected.\n\n## Disabling the Intake Form\n\nIf you want fully anonymous interviews with zero friction, simply toggle the lead form off. Participants will go directly from the landing page to the interview without seeing any form fields.\n\nYou can enable or disable the form at any time. Responses that were already collected are not affected by toggling the form.\n\n## Next Steps\n\n- [Interview Landing Page](/docs/interview-landing-page) — see how the form fits into the overall landing experience\n- [Customizing Branding](/docs/customizing-branding) — edit the headline, description, and footer text that appear around the form\n- [Importing Participants via CSV](/docs/importing-participants-csv) — pre-fill form fields from a spreadsheet\n\n## Further reading on the blog\n\n- [Google Forms to AI Interviews: A Complete Migration Guide](/blog/google-forms-to-ai-interviews) — Why teams are moving beyond Google Forms and how to convert your existing forms into AI-powered research conversations in 30 seconds.\n- [Koji vs Microsoft Forms: AI-Powered Research vs Enterprise Form Builder (2026)](/blog/koji-vs-microsoft-forms-2026) — Microsoft Forms is free with every M365 subscription, which makes it the default for a lot of teams. But it's a form builder — not a researc\n\n<!-- further-reading:blog -->\n","category":"Interview Experience","lastModified":"2026-05-15T03:23:48.575624+00:00","metaTitle":"Intake Forms and Consent — Koji Docs","metaDescription":"Add intake forms to collect participant details and consent before Koji interviews. Configure fields, validation, and more.","keywords":["intake form","consent","lead form","form fields","participant data","pre-fill","research consent"],"aiSummary":"Intake forms collect participant information before the interview starts. Configure text, email, phone, dropdown, textarea, and checkbox fields with labels, placeholders, required flags, and help text. Pre-fill from CSV imports and collect research consent.","aiPrerequisites":["interview-landing-page","customizing-branding"],"aiLearningOutcomes":["Configure and enable intake forms","Choose appropriate field types","Collect research consent","Pre-fill forms from CSV data","Optimize forms for higher completion rates"],"aiDifficulty":"beginner","aiEstimatedTime":"7 min read"}],"pagination":{"total":1,"returned":1,"offset":0}}