How Outset.ai Became the Category-Defining AI Research Platform
In an era where "data is the new gold," the ability to gather, analyze, and act on customer insights has become a cornerstone of competitive advantage for enterprises. Yet, traditional methods of qualitative research—interviews, surveys, and focus groups—are often slow, expensive, and resource-intensive. Enter Outset.ai, a startup that has redefined customer research by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct and analyze interviews at unprecedented speed and scale. From its humble beginnings as a weekend prototype to a platform trusted by Fortune 500 companies like Nestlé and Microsoft, Outset.ai’s journey is a masterclass in innovation, execution, and growth.
When Aaron Cannon and Michael Hess left their roles at Untapped in late 2022, they had a simple yet profound idea: what if AI could replace the human moderators traditionally required for qualitative research? Over the next two and a half years, this idea evolved into Outset.ai, a platform that combines the speed and scalability of surveys with the depth of one-on-one interviews. By automating the role of human moderators, Outset.ai has not only reduced the cost and time of research but also unlocked new possibilities for understanding customers across industries and geographies.
Today, Outset.ai is the world’s first AI-moderated research platform, enabling enterprises to conduct 10 times as many interviews in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. With $21 million in total funding, a growing list of high-profile customers, and a clear lead in the AI research category, Outset.ai is poised to shape the future of customer insights.
Timeline: From Prototype to Market Leader
The story of Outset.ai begins in late 2022, when Cannon and Hess left their positions at Untapped to explore the potential of AI in qualitative research. Over a single weekend, they built a prototype using OpenAI’s GPT-3.5, which mimicked a human moderator by probing survey answers with follow-up questions. This early prototype demonstrated the feasibility of using AI to conduct interviews, setting the stage for what would become Outset.ai.
