Getting Started

Get up and running with CrowdRunner in five minutes.

What is CrowdRunner?

CrowdRunner is a synthetic UX testing platform. Instead of recruiting real participants, CrowdRunner generates AI-powered personas that browse your website like real users — clicking links, filling in forms, and navigating your interface. Each persona has a unique demographic profile (age, tech literacy, accessibility needs) that influences how they interact with your site.

After a test completes, you get detailed results including step-by-step screenshots, friction point analysis, and an AI-generated synthesis report summarizing the findings.

Your First Test

Creating a test takes about 60 seconds. Here's how:

1. Navigate to New Test in the dashboard.
2. Enter the URL you want to test (e.g. https://yoursite.com).
3. Choose a cohort — start with "General Web Users" for a diverse set of personas.
4. Describe the task you want personas to complete (e.g. "Find and add a product to the shopping cart") and optionally set success criteria.
5. Review your configuration and click Launch Test.

Understanding the Wizard

The test creation wizard has four steps:

1. URL — Enter the website address and choose an execution mode (cloud or Chrome Extension).
2. Cohort — Select a built-in cohort, custom cohort, or individual prebuilt personas.
3. Task — Describe what the personas should do, set success criteria, choose the test mode, and pick your panel size.
4. Review — Confirm the configuration and launch.

What Happens During a Test

Once launched, CrowdRunner spins up browser sessions for each persona. Every persona navigates your site independently, taking screenshots at each step. Sessions end when the persona completes the task, gets stuck, or reaches the step limit.

You can watch progress in real time on the test detail page. Each persona shows its current status, step count, and outcome as it executes.

Reading Your Results

After all personas finish, 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, encountered errors, or abandoned the task.
• Comparison view — Side-by-side screenshots to see how different personas experienced the same flow.
• Synthesis report — AI-generated summary with actionable recommendations.

Next Steps

Dive deeper into specific features:

• Tests & Results — Advanced test configuration and result analysis.
• Personas & Cohorts — Understand and customize your test audience.
• Discovery — Let AI suggest what to test on your site.
• Chrome Extension — Test localhost, VPN, and authenticated sites.
• API Keys — Automate testing with programmatic access.