Short answer: Outset is a dedicated AI interview platform: text, voice and video interviews, screen-shared usability sessions, 40+ languages and deep synthesis, sold on custom enterprise plans. Maze is a broad product research platform (prototype tests, surveys, card sorting, tree tests) that added an AI moderator in 2025 as one more study type. Choose Outset if AI-moderated interviews are your main research method and you have an enterprise budget. Choose Maze if most of your work is prototype and usability testing and you want interviews in the same tool. If you want AI interviews without a sales call, Koji runs voice, text and phone interviews on public pricing from free.
Outset vs Maze at a glance
| Outset | Maze | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A platform built around AI-moderated interviews | A product research platform with an AI moderator added |
| Interview formats | Text, voice and video | AI-moderated interviews and a voice feedback block |
| Usability testing | Screen share on prototypes, live sites and apps | Prototype tests, card sorts and tree tests |
| Participants | Your own, or partners like Prolific and User Interviews | Its own panel in 150+ countries, or your own |
| Languages | 40+, per Outset | No published list for the AI moderator |
| Buying model | Custom plans, no free tier | Free tier; AI moderator on quoted plans |
| Best fit | Research teams that run interviews at volume | Product and design teams that test prototypes |
Why AI moderation is the comparison that matters
Two years ago, Outset and Maze barely competed. Maze was where designers tested Figma prototypes; Outset was a young AI interview startup. AI moderation changed that.
The numbers show why every research tool now wants an AI interviewer. In Maze's own 2025 Future of User Research report, 58% of teams said they use AI tools in research, up from 44% in 2024, and 55% saw demand for research rise (Maze). Analysis was the top use, at 74% of AI users. User Interviews' State of User Research found 80% of researchers now use AI, up 24 points in a year, while 41% view AI negatively and 91% worry about hallucinations (User Interviews via UserTesting).
That mix of heavy use and real doubt is the right lens for this comparison. You want an AI interviewer that saves time and that you can check. Participants have a say too: in one 2026 study of AI-conducted interviews, 22.7% of participants (15 of 66) said they missed talking to a person (arXiv). That is a minority, but it is a reason to keep the conversation easy and short.
Outset: built around the interview
Outset was founded in 2022 by Aaron Cannon and Michael Hess. Everything in the product starts from an AI-moderated conversation.
- Formats. Text, voice and video interviews. Participants can share their screen on mobile or desktop, and the AI can show images and video as prompts.
- Usability sessions. Picture-in-picture screen share on Figma prototypes, live websites and mobile apps, with an agent that flags friction such as dead clicks and hesitation.
- Languages. Outset says it runs 40+ languages natively.
- Participants. No panel of its own. Bring your own customers, or recruit through partners such as Prolific and User Interviews.
- Synthesis. Summaries, themes, quotes, highlight reels, AI-written reports and slide decks, and you can ask questions of the interviews directly (Outset).
- Backing. A $17M Series A led by 8VC in June 2025 (Research Live) and a $30M Series B led by Radical Ventures in December 2025, with Microsoft's M12 taking part. Named customers include Nestlé, Microsoft, WeightWatchers and HubSpot.
Pricing. No public prices. Plans are custom, with add-ons such as white-labeling and expert project support (Outset pricing), and third-party listings say there is no free plan.
Limits. G2 does not have enough reviews to give buying insight. Independent reviewers note that AI-generated themes still need a researcher to check them, and recruiting is always a separate cost.
Maze: an AI moderator inside a testing platform
Maze built its name on unmoderated prototype testing. Today it covers prototype tests, surveys, card sorting, tree testing, concept tests and interview studies. Maze's own comparison pages say its panel reaches 150+ countries.
The AI moderator launched in beta on June 18, 2025, switched on for selected accounts first (Maze). It works in three steps: you enter your research goals and the AI drafts an editable discussion guide; it runs the interviews on its own across time zones and asks follow-up questions; then it transcribes each session, tags key moments and groups themes against your goals (Maze). Maze has since added visual stimulus testing and different discussion styles, and has said screen sharing for prototype and website testing is coming. We could not confirm it has shipped.
Pricing. Maze's public pricing is in flux. It has a Free plan and quoted Organization or Enterprise plans. A Starter plan at about $99 a month appeared in many 2026 listings, but pricing trackers report Maze removed it this year, and Maze's help center says it runs pricing experiments, so plans can differ by account. Third-party listings place the AI moderator on Enterprise plans. Check with Maze before you budget.
Limits. G2 and Software Advice reviewers mention limited survey logic, basic analytics, some Figma prototypes failing on mobile, and a restrictive free plan with key features on higher tiers.
Where they differ
Depth of the interview product
Outset's interviews are the product, so it has more options: video, screen share, stimulus, a richer synthesis layer. Maze's AI moderator is newer and sits next to a dozen other study types. If interviews are 80% of your research, that difference matters. If they are 20%, Maze's breadth may matter more.
Usability testing
Both cover it in different ways. Maze has years of unmoderated prototype testing with clicks, paths and heatmaps. Outset adds AI moderation on top of a shared screen, so you hear why someone hesitated as well as where. If you test prototypes every week, Maze's unmoderated speed is hard to beat. If you want to hear the reasoning, Outset's approach fits better.
Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
Recruiting
Maze has its own panel. Outset relies on partners, which gives you choice but adds a second contract and a second bill.
Buying
Neither publishes a simple price for AI-moderated interviews. Expect a sales conversation with both.
A third option: Koji
If you are comparing Outset and Maze because you want AI interviews, not a whole testing suite or an enterprise contract, look at Koji. It is an AI-native research platform you run yourself:
- Voice, text and phone interviews in 28 languages. Participants choose to talk or type; you can also send a call-back link or have Koji phone a list of numbers. Koji does not do video or screen-share usability tests, so it is not a replacement for Maze's prototype testing.
- Open and structured questions together. AI follow-ups on open questions sit next to scales, choice, ranking and yes/no questions in one interview.
- Free previews. Take your own interview by voice or text before launch; previews never use credits.
- A quality gate. Every interview gets a quality score from 1 to 5, and only interviews scoring 3 or more use credits or enter the report.
- Participants your way. Share a link, import a CSV for personal invite links (Interviews and Enterprise plans), or recruit from Koji's panel on paid plans.
- Public pricing. Free with 10 credits, Insights at €29 a month, Interviews at €79 a month, Enterprise on request. A text interview uses 1 credit and a voice interview 3.
Whichever tool you shortlist, ask each vendor the same questions before you sign:
Which should you choose?
Choose Outset if:
- AI-moderated interviews are your main method and you run them at volume.
- You need video and screen-shared usability sessions with an AI moderator.
- You have an enterprise budget and your own participants or a partner panel.
Choose Maze if:
- Your team mostly tests prototypes, flows and information architecture.
- You want AI interviews as one study type in a tool your designers already use.
- You value a built-in panel over interview depth.
Choose Koji if:
- You want AI-moderated voice or text interviews without a sales cycle.
- You want to mix open conversation with structured questions and pay only for interviews that pass a quality check.
- You want to start this week, for free.
Try Koji free
The fastest way to judge an AI interviewer is to sit through one. Create a free Koji account, type your research question, and preview the interview yourself. Your 10 signup credits cover ten text interviews or three voice interviews with real participants. For more detail, see Koji vs Outset, Koji vs Maze, or our guide to voice vs text interviews.
