You can turn a questionnaire you already have, such as a Word document, PDF, spreadsheet, or text file, into a BetaTesting survey in about a minute. AI reads the document and rebuilds each question in the survey builder with its answer options, so you review and adjust it instead of retyping it.
This is most useful when the survey already exists somewhere else: a concept test your research team drafted in Word, a screener a stakeholder sent as a PDF, a question bank kept in a spreadsheet, or a survey you ran in another tool and exported. Rebuilding a 30 question survey by hand takes time and invites copy mistakes in answer options and scale labels. Importing keeps the original wording and order and leaves you with only the review.
Any document can be imported, but documents written in the format below import one to one: every question lands with the type, options, and required setting you intended. The rest of this article is that format guide.
AI survey import is a plan feature and may not be available on your account. If you do not see Import a survey when you add a survey, it is not included in your current plan.
How to import a survey
Start a new survey from a document
Open your test and go to the Surveys step.
Click the round + button and choose Add Survey.
In the Add a survey window, select Import a survey.
Give the survey a name, then drag your document onto Drag a file here or browse, or click it to pick a file.
Click Import survey. Importing usually takes under a minute, and you land in the survey builder with your questions in place.
Review each question, fix anything the import did not capture, and publish as usual.
Replace the questions in an existing survey
Open the survey in the survey builder.
Click Import at the top of the builder.
Choose your document and click Import survey.
If the survey already has questions, a warning asks you to confirm that they will be deleted. Click Yes, replace questions to go ahead.
When the import finishes, the builder reloads with the new questions.
The Import button only appears before a survey goes out to testers: the survey has no responses, and either it is still a draft or its test has not launched yet.
How to format a Word, PDF, or text document
Follow four rules and the import will match your document question for question:
Number each question and give it its own paragraph.
After the question text, put the question type in square brackets, for example [multiple choice].
List answer options on their own lines directly under the question, one per line, each starting with a dash.
Add (optional) at the end of any question testers may skip. Every other question is required.
Question types
[instruction] is text testers read but do not answer, such as a welcome note, a scenario, or a task to complete before the next question.
[short text] is a one line written answer.
[long text] is a longer written answer for open feedback.
[multiple choice] lets testers pick one of the listed options. Add an option line that reads exactly - Other to give testers a write-in "Other" answer.
[checkboxes] lets testers pick several of the listed options. To cap the number, say so in the question, for example "Select up to 3".
[scale 1-5] is a numeric rating. Use any whole number range, such as [scale 1-7] or [scale 0-10] for likelihood to recommend. To label the ends, add a line under the question such as "1 = Very unlikely, 5 = Very likely". Each label can be up to 45 characters.
[ranking] asks testers to put the listed options in order of preference. To rank only the top few, say so in the question, for example "Rank your top 3".
[file upload] asks testers to attach a screenshot, video, or document.
[matrix] is a grid where each listed row is rated on the same set of columns. List the rows as dash lines, then add a line starting with Columns: followed by the column labels separated by commas. A matrix can have up to 30 rows and 2 to 7 columns. Matrix questions are only available on plans that include them.
Example
1. Welcome to our checkout study. Please complete a purchase on the test site before answering. [instruction]
2. How easy was it to find the checkout button? [scale 1-5]
1 = Very hard, 5 = Very easy
3. Which payment method did you use? [multiple choice]
- Credit card
- PayPal
- Apple Pay
- Other
4. Which of these did you notice during checkout? Select up to 2. [checkboxes]
- Promo code field
- Gift wrapping
- Delivery date picker
5. Rate each part of the experience. [matrix]
- Page speed
- Clarity of prices
- Error messages
Columns: Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent
6. What would you change about the checkout page? [long text] (optional)
Titles, section headings, page numbers, estimated completion times, and appendix notes such as scoring instructions are skipped automatically, so you do not need to delete them first.
How to format a spreadsheet or CSV
Use one row per question, with these column headings in the first row:
Question holds the question text.
Type holds the question type in the same words as above, without the brackets, for example multiple choice or scale 1-5.
Options holds the answer options separated by a vertical bar, for example "Credit card | PayPal | Apple Pay". For a matrix, put the rows here.
Required holds yes or no.
Columns is only needed for matrix questions. It holds the column labels separated by a vertical bar.
Every sheet in a workbook is read, so keep the questions on one sheet and remove sheets that hold notes, quotas, or other planning material before you upload.
What the import does not support yet
The following are not part of the import today. We plan to add support for them in the near future. Until then, the import either leaves them out or turns them into the closest supported question, so set them up by hand in the builder after importing.
Show/hide logic and skip logic. Instructions like "If No, skip to question 8" or "Only show to iPhone users" are not turned into logic rules. Add them in the builder once the questions are in.
Images, videos, and attachments. Pictures, embedded media, and attached files in your document are ignored. Only the text is read.
Other question types. Website link questions, agreements that testers sign, shipping address collection, and other specialized question types are not created by the import. Questions like these, and ones such as date pickers, come through as the closest supported type or as a text question.
Scanned PDFs. A PDF made from a scan or photo has no selectable text for the import to read. Upload the original document, or export it as a text based PDF.
Other survey kinds. The import creates regular surveys only. Screening surveys and bug report forms are built in the builder.
Surveys that are already live. Importing replaces every question, so it is not offered once a test has launched and its survey is live, or once a survey has responses.
Things to know
Supported files are .docx, .xlsx, .csv, .pdf, and .txt, up to 20 MB. Older formats such as .doc and .xls, Google Docs, and Pages files need to be saved or exported as one of these first.
Each import counts toward your plan's weekly allowance of AI imports. The allowance is measured over the previous 7 days rather than a calendar week, and the import window shows how many you have left, for example 3 of 5 AI imports left this week. Imports that fail do not count.
A survey can import up to 50 questions. For a longer questionnaire, split the document and import each half into its own survey.
Very long documents are cut off after roughly 120,000 characters of text, so anything past that point is not read.
Importing into an existing survey deletes all of its questions, including any show/hide logic, skip logic, and attachments on them, and cannot be undone. You are asked to confirm first.
Documents that do not follow this guide still import, but on a best effort basis: the AI works out the question types and options itself. If the document is a brief or research plan rather than a list of questions, it drafts a new survey from it instead. Always review the result before publishing.
If an import fails with We couldn't read that file, try saving the document in a different format, or copy the questions into a .txt file and import that.