Can it tell five voices apart?

Speakers are identified in the transcript. In the topline, a quote carries a participant code only when it is clear who spoke; otherwise it is attributed to “a participant”. Check the attributions against the recording before you report them.

Where do the recommendations come from?

From the findings. The topline proposes next steps that follow from what the group said, as a draft for you to accept, change or drop. If the discussion supports none, the section is left out.

Does it count how many participants held each view?

It reports how many participants said something, where the recording supports the count. It draws no statistical or causal claim from a small group, and makes no claim about people in general.

Can it combine several groups into one report?

No. Each topline covers one recorded group. Comparing groups, and deciding what holds across them, stays with you.

The group discussion condensed: where they agreed, where they split.

Verbato writes a focus group topline from the recording of your focus group. A focus group topline is the first, short report after a focus group: the main findings by topic, where the group agreed and where it split, and what to do next.

For moderators and researchers who run focus groups.

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What is said, and the focus group topline you get back

Illustrative example

The transcript excerpt and the document are written to show the format. Every name, figure and quote is invented.

What is said · transcript excerpt

24:10
Moderator
What about substitutions, when an item is out of stock?
24:16
Participant 4
I'm fine with them. Close enough is close enough.
24:22
Participant 1
Not me. If it's not what I ordered, I didn't order it.

appears in this excerpt

What comes back · focus group topline

Purpose and method

A 60-minute moderated group of 5 participants on choosing a grocery delivery service.

Findings by topic

Delivery windows. The group agreed narrow windows matter more than price. A participant: "I'd pay more to not wait in all afternoon." Another: "Same."

Substitutions. Views diverged. One participant accepts them; another does not: "If it's not what I ordered, I didn't order it." (appears in this excerpt)

Big ideas

Certainty about *when* outweighed cost for all 5 participants.

Recommendations

Test one-hour windows as the lead message.

Illustrative example

End of the illustrative example. Neither the excerpt nor the document was produced by Verbato.

How your focus group topline is written

Each topic shows the range of views, with agreement and divergence flagged.
Quotes are word for word, and any cut inside one is marked.
Big ideas sum up the discussion; the quotes they rest on are in the findings.
No participant is named. The transcript keeps whatever was said.

Your format, not ours

The sections of your focus group topline and the way it is written are yours to change. To fix a document, say what is wrong in your own words.

1You correct it
“Leave out the Recommendations section. I write those myself.”
That focus group topline changes. Nothing else does.
2You say it again
Make the same correction on a later focus group topline and Verbato asks: “You've changed this before. Always?”
3You decide
Answer “Always” and it is kept as a rule, applied from your next focus group topline on. Answer “Just this once” and nothing is kept. Documents already written stay as they are, and nothing becomes a rule unless you confirm it.
4Your rules
I leave out the “Recommendations” section.Undo
Every rule you have kept is listed, and you can undo any of them. An undone rule stops applying from your next focus group topline.

How it works

Upload a file, paste a link, record in your browser, or send a voice note by Telegram or email. Verbato makes a word-for-word transcript, which you can edit and which stays beside the document. Your focus group topline is written from it, in minutes.

Recording limits

A recording made in your browser can run up to 30 min on every plan; a longer session goes in as a file you upload. A free account takes recordings of up to 40 min each; for longer ones, see pricing.

Your recording

Deleted after 7 days by default, together with its transcript and documents. You can keep a project longer, up to your plan's limit. Deleting a recording leaves a receipt you can download. Nothing you record is used to train or improve AI models.

Questions about the focus group topline

Can it tell five voices apart?: Speakers are identified in the transcript. In the topline, a quote carries a participant code only when it is clear who spoke; otherwise it is attributed to “a participant”. Check the attributions against the recording before you report them.
Where do the recommendations come from?: From the findings. The topline proposes next steps that follow from what the group said, as a draft for you to accept, change or drop. If the discussion supports none, the section is left out.
Does it count how many participants held each view?: It reports how many participants said something, where the recording supports the count. It draws no statistical or causal claim from a small group, and makes no claim about people in general.
Can it combine several groups into one report?: No. Each topline covers one recorded group. Comparing groups, and deciding what holds across them, stays with you.

Run the group. Check the topline against it. Report.

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