Generative AI opens new avenues for world's first chat survey software: Survey Sparrow CEO Shihab Muhammed

For all those intimidated by forms that need to be filled in online, there's SurveySparrow. 

The world's first chat survey software, says its founder and CEO Shihab Muhammed, captures the conversational nature of surveys to give a highly engaging experience, utilising advanced technologies like big data and AI.

The abysmally low completion rates of traditional form filling in online survey software ignited the idea behind the omni-channel experience management platform that was launched in 2018.

“The audience-connect was instant... SurveySparrow became the perfect choice to capture the conversational nature of surveys, just like sparrows chirping and communicating in a backyard," Muhammed told PTI.

Today, with over 200,000 customers across 149 countries, the "growth trajectory continues", he said. 

The client list includes brands such as Meesho, Godrej, Paysafe, Exin, and Grant Thornton."We recently launched an AI-generated survey feature and are developing other features that leverage generative AI to enhance the user experience in creating, sharing, collecting, and analysing data," Muhammed explained.

On the infrastructure side, running on Amazon Web Services (AWS) has brought benefits such as liberation from managing complex infrastructure, allowing the company to focus on product improvement and customer service, and driving business growth, Muhammed said. 

The pay-as-you-use model has reduced upfront costs and provided flexibility, he added.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: What was the idea behind launching SurveySparrow? 

A: In 2017, online survey software had a traditional form filling experience with an average completion rate of about 15 per cent. However, there was growing excitement around conversational UI (user interface) experiences seen in platforms like WhatsApp and Slack. This inspired the idea of creating a highly engaging conversational survey experience.In 2018, we launched the world's first chat survey software. Surveysparrow became the perfect choice to capture the conversational nature of surveys, just like sparrows chirping and communicating in a backyard.

Q: What were the defining moments and milestones of SurveySparrow's journey, and as a founder, in building the venture? 

A: We launched SurveySparrow with the intention of achieving a high completion rate of 40 per cent through engaging conversational surveys. I was thrilled when some early adopters achieved completion rates of over 90 per cent with conversational UI. Within just 50 days of launch, we gained our first 1,000 customers. These were the moments that truly showcased customer love for our product, and there's nothing better than witnessing customer happiness! 

Q: How has SurveySparrow grown in the past years and could you provide an insight on how it has fared on some key metrics? 

A: With over 200,000 customers across 149 countries, SurveySparrow's product quality is validated. We achieved a remarkable 300 per cent growth in 2021 and doubled our revenue in 2022, and our growth trajectory continues. Securing our first round of funding, we raised USD 1.4 million in seed capital from prime venture partners.Additionally, we secured an additional USD 3 million in a bridge round from a family office. Today, we are a team of over 200 employees and proudly serve renowned brands such as Meesho, Godrej, Paysafe, Exin, and Grant Thornton as our valued customers.

Q: How is digital strategy helping SurveySparrow chase its targets? 

A: Our digital infrastructure consists of interconnected layers that deliver high-quality service to customers. These layers include Storage for data management, Cache for faster access, Application for business logic, Queues and Background Jobs for asynchronous processing, and Serverless for scalability. Additionally, domain driven microservices enhance system modularity and flexibility.Our multi-layered digital infrastructure is vital to our competitive strategy. It accelerates innovation, enhances delivery speed, and enables quick adaptation and improvement to achieve our targets and deliver superior customer experiences.

Q: How crucial is the digital piece to your growth and operational requirements? 

A: Consider a high-traffic website embedding our survey, which can result in a massive influx of submissions in a short time. Our digital infrastructure springs into action.Cassandra captures and stores the data, while CloudFront, Edge Lambda, API Gateway, and Elasticache manage traffic to ensure a quick and responsive service. Simultaneously, OpenSearch processes submissions for insights. This showcases the vital role of our infrastructure in handling spikes, maintaining high availability, and swiftly processing data for growth without compromising quality or speed.

Q: How have you embraced new technologies like big data, AI and ML (artificial intelligence and machine learning) to stay ahead? Are you using generative AI? 

A: We utilise advanced technologies like big data, AI, and ML to lead the industry, transforming how we provide insights and experiences to customers. Our approach includes predefined models for routine insights and specialised models for complex use cases, significantly improving our ability to deliver data-driven insights.Furthermore, the introduction of generative AI has opened new avenues. For example, we recently launched an AI-generated survey feature and are developing other features that leverage generative AI to enhance the user experience in creating, sharing, collecting, and analysing data. These innovations maintain our competitive edge and enhance customer value.

Q: What did cloud technology allow you to do that you couldn't before? 

A: Cloud technology enables rapid and efficient scaling of our product without significant upfront infrastructure investment. This shift from capital expense to operational expense has been beneficial, making it easier for new team members to learn our infrastructure.The ability to provision resources within minutes has greatly improved our response time to emerging demands. Leveraging managed services through AWS allows our team to focus on core business rather than infrastructure tasks. Cloud technology has transformed our resource management approach, fostering innovation and experimentation with lower risk in building a world-class product.

Q: What did AWS enable you to do better, and what benefits have you experienced running on AWS? 

A: Running on AWS has brought us numerous benefits. Its robust services ensure high availability and scalability, even during sudden traffic surges, building trust and satisfaction among our customers. One major advantage is the liberation from managing complex infrastructure, allowing us to focus on product improvement and customer service, driving business growth. AWS enhances our agility and innovation speed, offering a range of services for rapid development, testing, and feature launches, giving us a competitive edge.Financially, AWS' pay-as-you-use model reduces upfront costs and provides flexibility. Additionally, its strong security measures instill confidence in data and system protection. Overall, AWS plays a vital role in our growth and success.