Talking to a Bot: What Moderators and Participants Really Think About AI Moderation

Talking to a Bot: What Moderators and Participants Really Think About AI Moderation

Talking to a Bot: What Moderators and Participants Really Think About AI Moderation

AI moderation has entered the qualitative landscape with speed, promise, and no shortage of debate. But how does it actually feel in practice? This research-on-research case study puts AI moderation to the test through a multi-lens experiment designed to evaluate both its potential and its limitations.

This study deployed AI-moderated interviews with two distinct sample sources — 30 “pure qual” human-recruited participants and 101 panel participants — on the emotionally complex topic of menopause. Afterward, each group was recontacted to reflect on the experience of being interviewed by a bot. In parallel, more than 30 qualitative practitioners engaged with the AI tool, and a deeper round of IDIs with 25 moderators explored their reactions, concerns, and emerging use cases.

This session reveals what AI moderation feels like in real conversations — not just for researchers, but for real people navigating personal stories, sensitive topics, and emotional nuance. We’ll examine where AI shows genuine promise, where it struggles, and what both participants and moderators say about the experience of “talking to a bot.” By looking at the dynamic from both sides of the screen, we’ll surface practical, emotional, and ethical insights to help researchers make informed decisions about when and how to incorporate AI moderation without compromising empathy, trust, or impact.

Three Key Takeaways:

1. Firsthand insight into how participants and moderators experience AI moderation — what feels natural, what feels off, and how rapport, disclosure, and vulnerability shift when a bot is in the moderator’s chair.
2. A practical decision framework for assessing when AI moderation is appropriate — weighing topic sensitivity, emotional nuance, research objectives, timing, and budget.
3. Market intelligence on current adoption — who is experimenting with AI moderation today, how major clients and agencies are responding, and where the industry appears to be headed.

Our lunch and meal choices are as follows:

• Cedar Plank Roasted Wild Sockeye Salmon – with seasonal sides
• Fish ‘n Chips – Ivar’s World-Famous dish!
• Blackened True Cod Tacos – Spicy blackened Pacific rockfish, cilantro-cabbage slaw, Cajun remoulade, mango salsa,
  flour tortillas, house-made tortilla chips, pico de gallo, sour cream drizzle
• Cheese Burger – 1/2 pound Newport Pride Beef, Tillamook cheddar, bistro sauce, lettuce, tomato, red onion
• Chicken Saltimboca – Alder grilled chicken, fresh sage, thin sliced prosciutto, smoked mozzarella
  roasted pear, lemon-butter sauce
• Grilled Portobello Stack – Alder grilled Portobello mushroom, roasted red pepper, grilled zucchini and yellow squash,
  sautéed spinach, House specialty rice, balsamic syrup

Lauren McCluskey, Principal, Responsive Research

Lauren McCluskey is a qualitative researcher and strategist with over 25 years of experience helping Fortune 500 companies and emerging brands uncover insights that fuel growth across consumer goods, B2B technology, travel, and health and wellness. She is Principal of Responsive Research, Inc., a firm originally founded by her mother, where she combines proven qualitative methodologies with AI-powered tools to deliver strategic clarity.

Lauren has led more than 500 research engagements and conducted over 2,000 focus groups and in-depth interviews across 15+ industries, including global, multi-market studies. Her experience includes both consumer-facing and enterprise B2B research, supporting product innovation, digital transformation, and go-to-market strategy for technology and services organizations. She is especially skilled at distilling complex decision dynamics into focused, actionable recommendations that drive measurable business outcomes.

Earlier in her career, Lauren worked at Lieberman Research Worldwide (now Material) and went on to hold senior roles at Behaviorally and the strategic consultancy Magid. She holds a B.S. in Communication Studies and International Studies from Northwestern University, speaks fluent French, is a second-generation RIVA-certified moderator, and serves on the Board of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA).