Rebecca Klee
CX Researcher & Designer
Meridian Energy / Independent Consultant
Designing research for AI moderators: Lessons from running 100 interviews a week
Design Research track
Designing research for AI moderators: Lessons from running 100 interviews a week
AI can now conduct interviews at a scale that would be impossible for most research teams. But what happens when you stop being the moderator and start designing the moderator instead?
Over the past year, I’ve been running a continuous research program generating around 100 AI-moderated customer interviews every week. Along the way, I discovered that scaling research isn’t simply a matter of handing conversations over to AI. It requires new ways of thinking about prompts, quality, participant engagement, analysis, and the role of the researcher.
In this session, I’ll share what actually happens when AI becomes part of the research process: where it excels, where it struggles, and the challenges that emerge at scale. Drawing on real-world experience rather than theory, I’ll explore how researchers can design systems that produce meaningful conversations, maintain research quality, and create insight that teams can trust.
If you're wondering what AI-moderated research looks like beyond the demos and headlines, this talk offers a practical look behind the curtain.
Rebecca Klee
Rebecca Klee is a design researcher with over 15 years’ experience helping organisations understand customer behaviour and make better decisions. She currently works as a CX Designer across Meridian Energy and Powershop, and also leads research programs through independent consulting engagements.
Over her career, Rebecca has worked across energy, fintech, SaaS, e-commerce, tourism, and public sector organisations, helping teams navigate complex customer, commercial, and delivery challenges. Her work sits at the intersection of research, experience design, and strategy, with a particular interest in translating customer insight into practical decisions and meaningful change.
Rebecca has spoken at UX and research conferences across New Zealand, Europe, and North America, and is known for sharing honest, practical perspectives on what works in research - and what doesn't. Based in Wellington, she spends her time balancing customer conversations, design thinking, and life with her young daughter.