AI focus groups
A simulated focus group for the questions you have today
A traditional focus group takes recruiting, scheduling and a moderator. An AI focus group gives you a first read in about 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the test size: thousands of AI-simulated people, built for your audience, react to your idea and explain why. It is useful for narrowing down what to ask real people. It is not a substitute for talking to them.
Test Your Idea for Free1,000 AI-simulated participants · no card needed · free if eligible
It works for more than products. Choose the kind of idea when you set up the test, and the answers change to match: a startup idea gets “interested, maybe or not interested”, an app “would try it”, a service “would consider it” and an ad “would respond or ignore it”. The examples below use shoppers and a physical product.
How SellTo.us builds the group
- You describe the audience. Country, city and up to 10 shopper groups in your own words, such as “parents of toddlers in Austin” or “small-gym owners”.
- The audience is split into shopper groups. Each group gets an age range, typical jobs, a budget level and shopping habits, and a share of the crowd.
- Individual shoppers are created. Each one has an age, a job and the habits of their group, and gets a separate answer. The AI handles 40 shopper profiles per request and answers each one separately.
- Every answer is counted. Would buy, maybe or wouldn’t buy, with a short reason, for each version you show.
How it differs from a real focus group
| AI focus group (SellTo.us) | Traditional focus group | |
|---|---|---|
| Participants | AI personas based on your audience description | Real people you recruit |
| Size | 1,000 to 100,000 simulated shoppers | Usually a small group per session |
| Time | About 10 to 16 minutes for 1,000 or 10,000 participants, up to about 30 for 100,000 | Recruiting and scheduling take days or weeks |
| Conversation | One separate answer per simulated shopper; no follow-up questions or group discussion | A moderator can probe and people react to each other |
| What the answers are | Simulated responses, clearly labeled | What real people said in the room |
Good uses
Find the likely objections
See which worries come up most: price, trust, need, hassle.
Find the most interested group
Results by group show who leans toward buying and who doesn’t.
Sharpen your questions
Use the top objections to plan what to ask in real interviews.
Compare framings
Show two or more versions and see which one each group prefers.
When not to rely on it
- Decisions about health, safety, finance or legal claims, where you need real evidence and expert advice.
- Very specialized buyers whose knowledge an AI persona can’t reproduce well, such as hospital procurement teams.
- Questions about how people use a product over time; a one-time reaction can’t show that.
Reading the shopper quotes
Each report includes short simulated interviews: a reason in the shopper’s words, their age, job and group, and the version they’re talking about. They are labeled as simulated responses. Quotes whose words contradict the shopper’s own answer, such as “too pricey, I’ll pass” marked as “would buy”, are left out, and the report says how many.
What it can’t tell you
- Nobody is in the room. The participants are AI personas, so there are no follow-up questions, body language or moments where one person’s comment changes the group’s mind.
- Quotes are simulated responses. They show the kind of reasons shoppers like these might give, not what any real person said.
- No accuracy is claimed. Results haven’t been measured against real sales, and each test is run once, so how much the numbers would move on another run isn’t measured. More on the limits.
- Personas reflect your description. If the audience description is vague or off, the shopper groups will be too.
Turn it into a real conversation
- Pick the group that looked most interested and the top 2–3 objections.
- Talk to 5–10 real people who match that group. Ask what would stop them buying today and what proof they’d need.
- Change one thing, then re-test so the same shopper groups compare the old and new version.
Run your first AI focus group
Your first 1,000-participant test is free if eligible. No card needed. A 1,000-participant test takes about 10 to 12 minutes.