Getting Started

Run your first synthetic UX test in a few minutes.

What is CrowdRunner?

CrowdRunner is a synthetic UX testing platform. Instead of recruiting real participants, it generates AI-powered personas that browse your site like real users, clicking links, filling in forms, and navigating your interface. Each persona has its own profile (age, tech comfort, accessibility needs, goals) that shapes how it behaves, so a tech-savvy 25-year-old and a cautious first-time visitor experience the same page differently.

When a test finishes you get a synthesis report: step-by-step screenshots, friction points with evidence, satisfaction scores, and prioritized recommendations.

Your first test

From the dashboard, click New Test and walk through the wizard:

1. Pick a test mode: Task, Exploratory, Chaos, or UAT (explained in Tests & Results). Start with Task if you have a specific flow in mind.
2. Enter the URL personas should start from (e.g. https://yoursite.com). Tests run on CrowdRunner's cloud; there is nothing to install.
3. Add a login if the page is behind auth, or skip it. Credentials are stored encrypted and never sent to the worker in plaintext.
4. Choose a cohort. Start with General Consumers for a broad, diverse panel. See Personas & Cohorts.
5. Write the instructions: what personas should accomplish, the success criteria, and how many personas to run (panel size).
6. Set guardrails: block real purchases, signups, or newsletter submissions, and supply the form data personas may safely use.
7. Review & launch.

The wizard, step by step

The standard modes (Task, Exploratory, Chaos) share the same six steps: Target URL, Login, Cohort, Instructions, Guardrails, Review. UAT mode swaps the Cohort, Instructions, and Guardrails steps for a UAT upload step and a Requirements step, where personas execute the structured acceptance criteria you provide.

What happens during a test

Once launched, CrowdRunner runs a browser session for each persona. Every persona navigates independently, taking a screenshot at each step and narrating what it is thinking. A session ends when the persona completes the task, gets stuck, or hits the step limit. You can watch progress live on the test detail page, where each persona shows its status, step count, and outcome as it goes.

Reading your results

When every persona finishes, CrowdRunner generates a synthesis report. The results page shows:

• Session timelines: step-by-step screenshot walkthroughs for each persona.
• Friction points: specific moments where personas got confused, hit errors, or abandoned the task, each rated by severity and confidence.
• Comparison view: the same step across personas, side by side, to see where profiles diverge.
• Synthesis report: an executive summary, the issues that mattered, and prioritized recommendations.

The Tests & Results guide covers how to read all of this in depth.

Common first-test mistakes

• Vague success criteria. "Test the signup" gives the panel nothing to aim at. Say what done looks like: "Reaches the logged-in dashboard."
• Forgetting guardrails. If real purchases or signups are possible, set guardrails so personas don't submit live transactions.
• Auth-walled pages with no login. If the start URL needs a session, add a login or the panel will stall on the sign-in screen.
• Panel too small to see a pattern. One persona is an anecdote. Start with five so friction that repeats stands out from one-off noise.

Next steps

• Tests & Results: test modes, configuration, and reading reports.
• Personas & Cohorts: choose and customize your test audience.