Quick Start Guide

You can go from signing up to collecting your first interview response in about 10 minutes. This guide walks you through every step so you know exactly what to expect.

The Big Picture

Before we dive in, here's the overall flow:

1. Create your account — sign up with Google or email.
2. Start a new study — describe what you want to learn.
3. Work with the AI Consultant — refine your research brief and interview plan.
4. Publish your study — lock in your research design.
5. Share the interview link — send participants a URL and let Koji handle the rest.

That's it. No scheduling calendars, no transcription tools, no manual note-taking. Koji's AI conducts each interview, adapts follow-up questions in real time, and delivers structured analysis once responses come in.

Let's walk through each step.

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Step 1: Create Your Account

Head to /signup and create your account. You can sign up with your Google account for one-click access, or use an email and password if you prefer.

Once you're in, you'll land on your dashboard — the home base for all your research.

For a deeper look at the signup process and profile setup, see Creating Your Account.

Step 2: Start a New Study

From your dashboard, click New Study. A study in Koji is a single research project — think of it as a container for your research question, interview plan, and all the responses you collect.

You'll be asked to describe your research goal in plain language. Don't worry about getting it perfect. Something like:

"I want to understand why customers cancel their subscription in the first 30 days."

or

"I'm exploring how freelance designers find new clients."

That's all you need to get started. The AI Consultant takes it from here.

For detailed guidance on crafting your research question, check out Creating Your First Study.

Step 3: Work with the AI Consultant

This is where Koji really shines. Once you've entered your research goal, the AI Consultant — your built-in research design partner — will:

• Ask clarifying questions to understand the nuance of what you're trying to learn.
• Suggest a methodology that fits your research goal (like the Mom Test for validating product ideas, or Jobs-to-Be-Done for understanding user motivations).
• Draft a research brief that outlines the study's objectives, target audience, and key themes.
• Build an interview guide with a logical flow of questions, follow-up probes, and conversation structure.

You can go back and forth with the Consultant as many times as you need. Ask it to adjust the tone, add questions, change the methodology, or focus on different areas. It's a collaborative process, not a one-shot generator.

You can also upload context documents — PDFs, text files, Word docs, or markdown — to give the Consultant more background on your product, market, or previous research.

Learn more in Understanding the AI Consultant.

Step 4: Publish Your Study

Once you're happy with the research brief and interview plan, hit Publish. This locks in your study design and generates a unique interview link that you can share with participants.

Publishing doesn't mean you can't iterate later — but it does mean your study is live and ready to collect responses.

For tips on when and how to publish, see Publishing Your Study.

Step 5: Share Your Interview Link

Every published study gets a shareable link that looks like:

https://koji.so/i/your-study-slug

Send this link to anyone you want to interview. When they open it, Koji's AI will conduct the interview — either through voice or text, depending on your study settings. Participants don't need an account. They just click the link and start talking.

You can share this link via:

• Email
• Slack or Teams messages
• Social media posts
• Embedded on your website
• QR codes
• Anywhere a URL works

For distribution strategies, see Sharing Your Interview Link.

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What Happens Next?

As interviews come in, Koji automatically:

• Transcribes and structures every conversation.
• Identifies themes and patterns across responses.
• Scores interview quality so you know which responses are most insightful.
• Generates a research report that aggregates findings across all interviews.

You can check progress anytime from your dashboard. Each study shows the number of completed interviews, key themes emerging, and a summary of findings so far.

Quick Reference

Total: ~10 minutes from signup to a live study collecting real responses.

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Tips for Your First Study

• Start focused. A specific question like "Why do users abandon onboarding at step 3?" will produce sharper insights than "Tell me about the user experience."
• Trust the Consultant. It's trained on established qualitative research methods. Let it suggest structure, then adjust to your needs.
• Start with 5–8 interviews. You don't need 50 responses to find meaningful patterns. Qualitative research is about depth, not volume.
• Review as responses come in. Don't wait until every interview is done. Reading early responses can help you spot patterns and decide if you need to adjust your approach.

Ready to dive deeper? Start with Creating Your Account or jump straight to Creating Your First Study.