Let me be straight with you – user interviews used to be my least favorite part of building products. The endless preparation, the awkward conversations, the messy notes, and then trying to make sense of it all? It felt like trying to drink from a firehose while simultaneously taking notes with one hand tied behind my back.
But here’s the thing: understanding your users is non-negotiable. As Paul Graham famously said, “Make something people want.” You can’t do that if you don’t understand what they actually need, what frustrates them, and what would make their lives better.
Enter AI. And I’m not talking about some sci-fi future – I’m talking about tools you can use right now to completely transform how you conduct user research as a solo founder.
First, let’s talk about interview preparation. Instead of staring at a blank document wondering what questions to ask, I now use AI to generate structured interview guides. I simply tell the AI about my product idea, target audience, and what I’m trying to learn, and it spits out a comprehensive question list that covers everything from discovery questions to pain point exploration to feature validation.
But here’s where it gets really interesting – the actual interview. I used to struggle with trying to ask questions, listen actively, and take notes simultaneously. Now? I record the conversation (with permission, of course) and use AI transcription and analysis tools. The AI doesn’t just transcribe – it identifies key themes, emotional tones, pain points, and even suggests follow-up questions in real-time.
One of my favorite discoveries? AI can help you notice patterns you might miss. During a recent user research session for a new productivity tool, the AI flagged that three different users used the exact same metaphor about “feeling like they’re juggling too many balls.” That became our core marketing message.
The post-interview analysis used to take me hours, sometimes days. Now, AI tools can synthesize findings across multiple interviews, identify contradictions, highlight surprising insights, and even suggest potential feature priorities. It’s like having a research assistant who never gets tired and can process information at lightning speed.
But here’s my most important insight: AI doesn’t replace your intuition or empathy. It amplifies it. You still need to understand the context, read between the lines, and make the final judgment calls. The AI just handles the heavy lifting so you can focus on what matters – connecting with users and building something they’ll love.
This is exactly why I’m so bullish on the AI-powered solo company model. Tools that used to require entire research teams are now accessible to individual founders. The barriers to building customer-centric products have never been lower.
Want to get started? Here’s my simple workflow: Record interview → AI transcription → Theme identification → Insight synthesis → Actionable recommendations. The entire process takes a fraction of the time it used to, and the insights are often deeper and more structured.
So here’s my question to you: What user insights are you missing because the research process feels too daunting? Maybe it’s time to let AI handle the grunt work while you focus on the human connection.