The Best AI Prompts for Usability Testing

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader

When I first started working on usability testing, I quickly realized how time-consuming and repetitive the process could be. Crafting the right questions and scenarios to uncover real user pain points felt like an endless challenge. That’s when I turned to AI prompts to help streamline my workflow and get more insightful feedback faster. Over time, I discovered several AI prompts that consistently deliver clear, actionable results during usability testing. In this post, I’ll share those prompts and explain how you can use them to improve your testing process.

Best Prompts for Usability Testing

Why Use AI Prompts in Usability Testing

Usability testing aims to understand how real users interact with a product, identify obstacles, and improve the overall experience. Traditionally, this involves writing detailed test scripts, recruiting participants, and manually analyzing feedback. AI prompts can help by:

• Generating realistic user scenarios based on product features

• Suggesting targeted questions to uncover specific usability issues

• Summarizing user feedback to highlight key problems

• Offering alternative wording to improve clarity and engagement

  
  

Using AI prompts saves time and helps testers focus on interpreting results rather than creating test materials from scratch.

Examples of Effective AI Prompts for Usability Testing

Here are some of the best AI prompts I use regularly. You can adapt these to your product and testing goals.

1. Generate User Scenarios

Prompt:

"Create three detailed user scenarios for testing a mobile banking app focused on transferring money, checking balances, and reporting lost cards."

This prompt helps create realistic situations that users might face. Scenarios guide participants through tasks that reveal how intuitive your app is.

2. Suggest Task-Based Questions

Prompt:

"List five clear and concise questions to ask users after they complete a checkout process on an e-commerce website."

Task-based questions focus on specific interactions. They encourage users to reflect on ease of use, confusion points, and satisfaction.

3. Identify Potential Usability Issues

Prompt:

"Based on common usability problems in travel booking websites, list possible issues users might encounter during flight search and booking."

This prompt helps anticipate problems before testing begins. It guides you to watch for specific behaviors or errors during sessions.

4. Summarize User Feedback

Prompt:

"Summarize the main usability concerns from the following user comments about a fitness tracking app: [insert comments]."

After collecting feedback, this prompt condenses responses into key themes, making it easier to prioritize fixes.

5. Improve Question Clarity

Prompt:

"Rewrite these usability test questions to be simpler and more engaging: [insert questions]."

Clear questions reduce confusion and improve the quality of answers. This prompt helps refine your test script.

How to Integrate AI Prompts into Your Testing Workflow

Using AI prompts effectively means knowing when and how to apply them. Here’s a workflow I follow:

• Planning: Use AI to generate user scenarios and task questions before recruiting participants. This ensures your test covers important features and flows.

• During Testing: Refer to AI-suggested usability issues to observe specific user behaviors. This keeps sessions focused and productive.

• After Testing: Use AI to summarize feedback and rewrite confusing questions for future tests. This speeds up analysis and improves test design.

  
  

By combining AI prompts with your expertise, you create a more efficient and insightful usability testing process.

Notebook with handwritten usability test notes and pen

Tips for Writing Your Own AI Prompts

To get the best results from AI, your prompts should be:

• Specific: Clearly state the product type, feature, or task you want to focus on.

• Contextual: Provide background information or examples when possible.

• Actionable: Ask for lists, summaries, or rewrites that you can directly use.

• Concise: Avoid overly long or complex prompts that confuse the AI.

  
  

For example, instead of asking "Help me with usability testing," try "List five common usability problems users face when booking hotels on a travel app."

Real-World Impact of Using AI Prompts

In one project, I used AI-generated scenarios and questions to test a new recipe app. The prompts helped uncover navigation issues and confusing labels that users struggled with. After addressing these problems, the app’s user satisfaction scores increased by 20% in follow-up tests.

This experience showed me that AI prompts are not just a time-saver but a way to improve the quality of usability testing itself.

Final Thoughts on AI Prompts for Usability Testing

AI prompts can transform how you approach usability testing by providing fresh ideas, clear questions, and focused observations. They help you spend less time preparing and more time understanding your users. Start by experimenting with the prompts shared here and tailor them to your product’s needs.

Next time you plan a usability test, try using AI to generate scenarios or summarize feedback. You might find it easier to spot issues and create a better user experience.

If you want to dive deeper, explore AI tools designed specifically for usability testing. They often include built-in prompt libraries and analysis features that make the process even smoother.