Creating Surveys in SurveyShark

Use AI to jump-start your survey

You can optionally let SurveyShark suggest questions based on your description.

Add guidance in the

Instructions to AI

field—mention tone, audience, or topics.

Review the generated questions. You can edit, delete, or add your own questions at any time.

Sometimes the AI gets the AI-generated questions wrong. This is due to AI hallucination. If you use AI to generate questions and AI randomly hallucinates, or you just don't like the questions it generated, you can ask AI to regenate the questions. You should review the questions that were generated by AI. You must accept the generated or regenerated questions before you can add new questions or edit the generated qustions. You are responsible for ensuring all content is appropriate and accurate.

Only the survey description and AI instructions are shared with the AI service. No personal data is transmitted.

If you do not want to use AI assistance to generate your questions, simply leave the instructions field blank and proceed to create your survey manually.

Create a new survey shell

Ensure you are signed in before you start.

Select

Surveys > Create Survey

from the navigation bar.

Enter a clear, descriptive title so respondents know what to expect.

Summarize the goal of the survey in the description field.

Choose

Create

to open the question builder.

Build out your questions

Use the Question Builder to add or edit each question.

If you used AI to generate questions, you have to accept or regenerate the questions that were generated with AI before you can add new questions manually.

Pick a question type from the dropdown:

Text – collect open-ended responses.

Multiple Choice – let respondents pick a single option.

Select All That Apply – gather multiple selections.

True/False – offer a quick binary choice.

Rating 1 to 10 – capture sentiment on a numeric scale.

Type the question prompt in the text field.

For choice-based questions, add options and select

Add Option

for each entry, or select from a set of

preset options.

Choose

Save Question

to save it to the survey.

Edit existing questions

Select a question from the list on the right to load it into the editor.

Update the prompt, helper text, or answer options as required.

Use

Save Question

again to store your changes.

Question types cannot be changed after creation. Delete the question and recreate it if you need a different type.

Reuse questions from your library

Expand

Start with Existing Question

to browse your catalog.

Search by keyword to quickly locate previous prompts.

Select a question to copy its wording, type, and options into the editor.

Tweak the copied content so it fits the new survey context.

Reuse is ideal for standard onboarding check-ins, recurring satisfaction surveys, and compliance questionnaires.

Copied questions become independent—changes do not affect the originals.

Configure Question Branching

Question branching allows you to create dynamic surveys where the questions shown to respondents depend on their previous answers. This creates personalized survey experiences and more relevant data collection.

Understanding Question Groups

Question branching is organized using Question Groups. Each group contains one or more questions that can be shown together based on branching logic.

You can create up to 10 question groups per survey (numbered 0-9).

Group 0 (Default Group): All questions are initially placed in the Default Group. Questions in this group are always shown first (except for Last Questions, which are shown at the end).

You can rename question groups with descriptive names to make your branching logic easier to understand (e.g., "Homeowner Questions", "Renter Questions").

Each group must contain at least 1 question. Empty groups are not allowed.

You cannot branch back to the Default Group (Group 0) from other groups. The Default Group always appears first in the survey flow.

How to Configure Branching

After creating your survey and questions, click

Configure Branching

on the Edit Survey page.

Click

Add Group

to create new question groups.

Use the dropdown next to each question to move questions between groups.

For each answer option in Multiple Choice, Select All That Apply, or True/False questions, select which group should be shown next when that option is chosen.

Use the visual branching diagram to see the flow of your survey at a glance.

Which Question Types Support Branching?

Multiple Choice: Branch based on which option the respondent selects. Each option can lead to a different group.

Select All That Apply: Branch based on selected options. If multiple options with different branches are selected, all corresponding groups will be shown.

True/False: Branch to different groups based on whether the respondent answers True or False.

Text: Text questions cannot be used for branching since they contain free-form text with no predefined answers.

Rating 1-10: Rating questions currently do not support branching but can be placed in any question group.

Understanding Last Questions

Last Questions are a special type of question that always appear at the very end of the survey, regardless of the branching path taken.

Last Questions must be in the Default Group (Group 0).

You cannot branch from a question marked as a Last Question.

Last Questions are shown after all other questions, including questions from branched groups.

Use Last Questions for demographic information, feedback requests, or follow-up items that should be answered by all respondents regardless of their survey path.

Mark a question as a Last Question when creating or editing it in the question editor.

Survey Flow with Branching

Understanding how surveys flow with branching helps you design effective surveys:

Step 1: Respondents start with questions from the Default Group (Group 0), except those marked as Last Questions.
Step 2: When a respondent answers a question with branching logic (e.g., selects an option that branches to Group 2), that group is queued to be shown.
Step 3: After completing all Default Group questions (except Last Questions), the survey shows questions from the branched groups in numerical order (e.g., Group 1, then Group 2, etc.).
Step 4: Branched groups may contain their own branching logic, leading to additional groups being shown.
Step 5: After all regular and branched group questions are answered, Last Questions from the Default Group are shown.
Step 6: The respondent submits the survey.

Example Survey Flow

Imagine a home renovation survey:

Default Group: "Do you own or rent your home?" (Multiple Choice: Own → Group 1, Rent → Group 2)
Group 1 (Homeowner Questions): "What renovations have you completed?" → "What is your budget?"
Group 2 (Renter Questions): "Have you requested improvements from your landlord?"
Last Question (Default Group): "Would you like to receive our newsletter?" (Shown to everyone at the end)

Homeowners see: Default question → Group 1 questions → Last Question
Renters see: Default question → Group 2 questions → Last Question

Best Practices for Branching

Keep it simple: Start with basic branching and add complexity gradually. Too many branches can confuse respondents.

Use descriptive group names: Instead of "Group 1", use names like "Product Users" or "New Customers" to make your logic clear.

Test your survey: Use the Preview mode to test different answer paths before publishing.

Plan your flow: Sketch out your branching logic on paper or in a diagram before configuring it in SurveyShark.

Ensure all paths work: Make sure every possible answer combination leads to a logical conclusion and survey submission.

Use Last Questions wisely: Reserve Last Questions for universal items that every respondent should answer, regardless of their path through the survey.

Important Note: When branching is configured, respondents see questions one at a time with Previous/Next navigation buttons. Without branching, all questions appear on a single page. This provides a focused experience for complex, branching surveys.