Simulations are limited and are in no way a drop in replacement for real human users, but they do have unique advantages.
Users aren’t working on your clock, they have ‘jobs to be done’. Until now, back and forth chat like you were working in the same room was wishful thinking. But now incredibly patient, always-available, user simulations are at your beckon call. Task them with any challenge then watch their full thought process and clicks in real time. The conversation of attempts to replace users (don’t, obvs) is a distraction from the immediate practical value of simulations augmenting human testing as an essential dry-run. A simulations first approach irons out embarrassing mistakes, optimizes designs, and ensure you’re making the most of valuable real human time when you finally get it. Lets explore a few benefits:
- Immediate 24/7 availability
- Chat to historical participants
- (100 times) better than nothing
- Talk-out-loud feedback beyond ‘meh’
Chat to historical participants
Instant availability is great but there are advantages beyond humans. In human testing, after the test, the users are gone. But with Velocity, you can retrospectively speak with a simulation at any point in a historical test and dig into its perceived motivations, asking “Why did you do that?” or “What were you thinking there?”. This ability to return to any part of a journey is a game-changer for thinking through different approaches.
(100 times) better than nothing
How many people do you need to ask to feel confident in a design decision? In UX research, it’s typically 10 to 15. But for everyday design updates and simple tweaks, we often don’t have the time or resources to run a full survey.
What if we could? What if immediately getting feedback from 100 users was as easy as clicking a button? Even if the feedback isn’t perfectly accurate, knowing that 80% of such a large proportion of competent simulations couldn’t complete a key task is a powerful insight you shouldn’t ignore. At Velocity, we believe in the power of challenging your designs with 100 user simulations whenever possible. The sheer quantity of feedback creates clear directional validation and often insightful discoveries.
Talk-out-loud feedback beyond ‘meh’
Velocity “talk-out-louds” are incredibly descriptive, offering step-by-step thinking that’s far more generous than what you’d typically get from human users. If you’ve ever tried to pull out more than a default “good” or “bad” from a user or stakeholder you are asking for feedback then you’ll appreciate the rich context of simulation thinking, helping you understand the ‘why’ behind the ’actions.’
AI user simulations aren’t just a one-shot hype trick; they are a strategic move that will make you a better, more confident, and truly contemporary designer. Backing up your design choices with cited quantifiable data from Velocity’s user testing simulations are a sign of real diligence and will make your work stand out.
So start talking to yourself, iterating and getting feedback at lightning speed ⚡️.
