Observer Rooms

Observer Livestreams

Watch live research sessions without distracting participants.

Observer Livestreams let teammates, stakeholders, and clients watch interviews in real time — without joining the call or being seen by participants. It's built into Moderated studies and powered by a Great Question Observer Bot that joins the meeting, streams the session live, and automatically records it to the repository.

What is Observer Livestreams?

When enabled, a Great Question Observer Bot joins the video call, streams the session to a private Interview Room, and captures a recording — all without disrupting the conversation between the moderator and participant.

Observers watch from a dedicated Interview Room page with a live video feed (with up to a 10-20 second delay for quality). Participants are notified that the session is being recorded and may be viewed by researchers, but they never see the observers or know how many are watching.

Why It Matters

Stakeholder alignment. Let product managers, designers, and executives watch sessions live without crowding the call.

Unobtrusive observation. Observers don't appear on camera or in the participant list, preserving a natural interview dynamic.

Automatic recording. When the call ends, the recording and transcript are automatically added to the repository — no manual uploads needed.

Flexible access. Observers can watch live or catch up later from the Interview Room.

Common Use Cases

How to Set Up Observer Livestreams

Step 1: Enable Livestream in Calendar Settings

During the Calendar step of study setup, under Event details:

1. Choose a supported video provider: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, or a Custom link (must match a supported provider URL).
2. Check the Livestream and record session checkbox.

When enabled, the following happens automatically:

• The moderator receives two calendar invitations — one for the video call with the participant, and one linking to the Interview Room where the livestream will be viewable. This is expected behavior and cannot be consolidated into a single invite at this time.
• A Great Question Observer Bot joins the call 2 minutes before the scheduled time. If nobody joins, it waits up to 15 minutes before leaving.
• The call is livestreamed to observers from the Interview Room. Participants are notified that the session is being recorded and may be viewed by observers from your team.
• Observers receive a private Interview Room link via calendar invite so they can watch privately. If livestreaming is not enabled, observers receive the same call URL sent to the participant instead.
• The session is automatically added to the repository when the call ends.

Step 2: Add Observers

Under Attendees in the Calendar step, add team members as Observers. Each observer receives a calendar invite with a link to the private Interview Room — not the actual meeting link.

Livestream Settings Per Session

After publishing, you can enable or disable livestream for individual sessions:

1. Go to the Participants tab.
2. Open the booking details for a specific participation.
3. Under Observer settings, toggle Livestream on or off for that session.
4. Add observer email addresses if needed — they'll receive a calendar invite with the Interview Room link.

Configure Share Settings

For observers who don't have a Great Question account, set the Interview Room's share settings to Anyone with the link can view. Admins can set this as the org-wide default under Settings → Permissions.

The Livestream Experience

For Moderators

Moderators conduct the interview as usual on the video call. The Observer Bot joins automatically 2 minutes before the scheduled start time and appears as "Great Question Observer" in the meeting. The moderator should:

• Admit the bot from the waiting room (if applicable).
• Grant recording permission when prompted — the livestream won't begin until the bot has permission to record.

Once the bot is recording, the session is live. Moderators can monitor the livestream status from the Interview Room page:

If the bot encounters an issue, moderators can re-send the Observer Bot from the Interview Room page.

A pre-stream check runs automatically when the session is created, validating that the meeting URL is accessible and the video provider settings are compatible. If issues are detected, you'll see a warning in the Interview Room and receive an email notification with details.

For Observers

Observers watch the session from a private Interview Room page. Here's what to expect:

• Before the call starts: A placeholder message reads "The Moderator hasn't started the call yet. Once the call starts, an Observer Bot will enter the call waiting room until the Moderator lets them in."
• Bot in waiting room: The status updates to "The Observer Bot is in the waiting room, but hasn't been let in yet."
• During the livestream: The live video feed plays automatically (muted by default). A delay of up to 10-20 seconds is applied to maintain quality and smoothness.

Observer room as a non-logged in user:

Observer room as a logged in user:

• After the call ends: The recording becomes available for playback once processing completes.

Observers can access the Interview Room via:

• The calendar invite they received when added as an observer.
• A direct link to the Interview Room shared by the study creator.
• A public share link, if one has been generated (no login required).

For Participants

Participants see the Observer Bot join the call as "Great Question Observer." They are informed that the session is being recorded and may be viewed by researchers. Observers are never visible to participants.

Best Practices

Before the Session

Test your video provider settings ahead of time. Make sure the moderator's account allows bots and guests to join. Pay special attention to waiting room and recording permission settings — this is the most common reason livestreams fail.

Use the pre-stream check. Review any warnings in the Interview Room page before the session starts. If the pre-stream check flags an issue, resolve it before the call begins.

Share the Interview Room link with observers early. Observers should know where to go before the call starts so they don't miss the beginning. A quick heads-up also prevents the common mistake of clicking the moderator's meeting link instead of the observer link.

Enable reminder automations. Turn on interview reminders in the study's Automations tab so both moderators and participants show up on time.

During the Session

Admit the Observer Bot promptly. If the bot lands in a waiting room, let it in quickly so observers don't miss content.

Grant recording permission immediately. The livestream won't begin until the bot has permission to record. Recording and livestreaming are linked — if recording is denied, the livestream stops.

Don't remove the bot from the call. If the bot is kicked or removed, the livestream and recording will stop. If this happens accidentally, use the Re-send Observer Bot option in the Interview Room.

After the Session

Wait for the recording to process. After the call ends, the recording is imported and transcribed automatically. This may take a few minutes for longer sessions.

Use the repository for synthesis. Recordings, transcripts, highlights, and tags are all available in the repository for collaborative analysis.

Video Provider Requirements

Troubleshooting

Bot and Streaming Issues

Recording and Post-Session Issues

Still need help?

Reach out to us anytime in the app or email us at [email protected].