SurveyTester reads many survey systems natively. For everything else there is the generic parser: an AI-assisted reader that understands the pages of survey software SurveyTester has no dedicated support for. The survey system setting of a project decides which of the two is used. Leave it at Automatic and SurveyTester picks the right one on every page.
The survey system setting
| Setting | What happens |
|---|---|
| Automatic (recommended) | Every page is checked against all dedicated survey systems first. A page none of them recognises goes to the generic parser - if your company has an AI engine. Without AI it ends at Unknown. |
| A dedicated system, e.g. Rogator G3plus | Works like Automatic, but the generic parser is never used. Pages of other dedicated systems are still recognised. |
| Generic Survey System | Every page goes to the generic parser, even pages of a system SurveyTester supports natively. Offered only when your company has an AI engine. |
| Unknown | Only the dedicated systems are tried; the generic parser is never used. |
How Automatic works
For every page the browser extension sends, SurveyTester goes through the same order:
- Dedicated survey systems. Each dedicated system checks whether the page is one of its own. Most of these checks look at how the page is built rather than at its address, so surveys on own domains and servers are found as well.
- Cookie consent dialogs. A consent dialog that covers the page is accepted, so the survey behind it can be tested the way most respondents see it.
- The generic parser, when your company has an AI engine.
- Panel entry pages. Without the generic parser, a landing page with nothing to answer and one clear "Start" or "Take part" link is still clicked through, so the run reaches the survey.
- Unknown. Nothing above matched.
What the generic parser reads
The generic parser looks at the page the way a tester does: what is visible, what can be clicked, which texts belong together. It finds:
- single and multiple choice questions, including options drawn as tiles, buttons or images,
- grids with their rows and scale points,
- dropdowns, sliders, star and NPS ratings,
- text and number fields, and "other, please specify" fields that belong to an option,
- "don't know" and "no answer" options, which are always answered alone,
- error messages, assigned to the question they belong to,
- pages that change without the browser loading a new page.
Questions get stable names, so the same page in another language version of the survey gets the same question names and test results stay comparable.
What the AI is used for
The page analysis itself runs in SurveyTester. The AI engine helps to group what the analysis found into questions and to understand what each control means; it can refine the result, but never removes a field the analysis found. The engine receives a condensed description of the page's texts and controls, not the page itself.
- Your engine, your control. The generic parser runs only on an AI engine your company has set up. Its usage shows up in your AI usage figures like any other AI feature. See AI Administration & Usage Controls.
- Speed. The first time SurveyTester sees a page, the analysis can take a few seconds. A page it has already read in the project is recognised again at once.
- No AI, no generic parser. Without an AI engine, Generic Survey System is not offered, and Automatic ends at Unknown. If AI is switched off later, projects fall back to the dedicated systems and Unknown on their own.
When a page stays Unknown
An Unknown page is not understood: SurveyTester does not record it as a step and cannot fill it in with Auto Answer. Manual testing still works - the extension waits a few seconds in case the survey is still loading, then releases the page and you click through it yourself. As soon as a page of a supported system appears, recording continues. An end page that matches one of your survey end page identifiers is recorded with its outcome even when nothing else on it is understood. See Survey end pages.
Some companies keep their projects at Automatic without an AI engine on purpose: testers who only work by hand are never slowed down by a page analysis they do not need.
Pages in front of the survey
- Cookie consent. A visible consent dialog with an accept button is accepted automatically, in every project.
- Panel entry pages. A landing page of a panel or sample provider with a single start link is clicked through, with or without AI.
- Login pages. A page with a visible password field is never analysed and never stored; you log in yourself. See My survey starts with a login page.
Survey systems with dedicated support
These survey systems are recognised natively, with or without AI:
- Alchemer (SurveyGizmo) - Testing Alchemer (SurveyGizmo) surveys
- Askia - Testing Askia surveys
- CMIX (Dynata) - Testing CMIX surveys
- Emazing - Testing Emazing surveys
- ERGOQUEST - Testing ERGOQUEST surveys
- Exavo SurveyStudio - Testing Exavo SurveyStudio surveys
- Forsta Plus (Confirmit) - Testing Forsta Plus (Confirmit) surveys
- Forsta Surveys (Decipher) - Testing Forsta Surveys (Decipher) surveys
- GESS (GESS Phone & Field) - Testing GESS surveys
- IntelliSurvey - Testing IntelliSurvey surveys
- IRQuest - Testing IRQuest surveys
- KeyIngress - Testing KeyIngress surveys
- LamaPoll - Testing LamaPoll surveys
- LimeSurvey - Testing LimeSurvey surveys
- Nfield - Testing Nfield surveys
- Qualtrics - Testing Qualtrics surveys
- QuestionPro - Testing QuestionPro surveys
- Rogator G3plus - Testing Rogator G3plus surveys
- Sawtooth - Testing Sawtooth Lighthouse Studio surveys
- SoSci Survey - Testing SoSci Survey questionnaires
- Survalyzer - Testing Survalyzer surveys
- SurveyFox - Testing SurveyFox surveys
- Survio - Testing Survio surveys
- Tivian (Questback/GlobalPark) - Testing Tivian (Questback, EFS) surveys
- UNICOM Intelligence (IBM SPSS Dimensions) - Testing UNICOM Intelligence (Dimensions) surveys
- Voxco Online (listed as Voxco) - Testing Voxco Online surveys
- Voxco CATI (Interviewer Web) - Testing Voxco CATI surveys
- Zoho Survey - Testing Zoho Survey questionnaires
Step by step
- Create the project and leave the survey system at Automatic. Paste the survey link.
- Start a test run from the project with the SurveyTester browser extension, or let SurveyBots run the survey.
- Answer the survey by hand, or press Auto Answer and Auto Next. Pages read by the generic parser are answered like any other page; the first visit of a new page may take a few seconds longer.
- Check the result on the Pages & Routing page: every recognised page appears with its questions and answer options.
Good to know
- Prefer Automatic over Generic. A dedicated system knows its survey software in detail - question names from the questionnaire, special question types, the system's own error messages. Choose Generic Survey System only when you want every page read the same way.
- Unusual pages. Games, shelf simulations and other highly interactive pages may be recorded only partly or not answered automatically. If the generic parser misreads a page, please send it to us.
- Your survey software is missing? Tell us which system you use and send us a few of its pages.