Here are some of the best questions for a SaaS customer survey about documentation quality, along with tips for crafting them effectively. You can build your own AI-powered documentation survey with Specific in seconds.
The best open-ended questions for SaaS customer surveys about documentation quality
Open-ended survey questions help us gather nuanced feedback and unexpected insights—going far beyond what closed choices can reveal. These work best when you want to understand experiences in your customers’ own words or explore the “why” behind their opinions. We also know that open-ended questions may get higher nonresponse rates; Pew Research Center found open-ended questions average 18% nonresponse versus 1–2% for closed-ended ones, so choose wisely and keep the most valuable ones. [1]
What aspects of our documentation help you solve problems the most effectively?
Can you describe a situation where the documentation didn’t meet your needs?
What was hard to understand or find in the documentation recently?
If you could improve one thing about our documentation, what would it be and why?
What topics or use cases do you wish the docs covered in more detail?
Has the documentation ever saved you from contacting support? Tell us more.
How would you describe the tone and clarity of our documentation to a colleague?
Are there formats (videos, diagrams, guides) you need that we don’t provide?
Which documentation resources do you rely on most: tutorials, API docs, FAQs, something else?
Is there anything confusing or outdated you’ve noticed in our docs lately?
The best single-select multiple-choice questions for SaaS customer surveys about documentation quality
Single-select multiple-choice questions shine when you need quantifiable data or to surface patterns across users. They’re easier for respondents to answer and useful conversation starters: the respondent can choose quickly, and you can dig deeper with a well-placed follow up. These types are great as anchor points for comparison over time or between segments.
Question: How satisfied are you with the overall quality of our documentation?
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
Question: Which documentation formats do you find most useful?
Step-by-step guides
API reference
Tutorial videos
FAQs
Other
Question: How easy is it to find information in our documentation?
Very easy
Somewhat easy
Somewhat difficult
Very difficult
When to followup with "why?" Include a "why" follow-up when you want the story behind a response, especially if the answer indicates dissatisfaction or confusion. Example: If someone chooses "Very difficult" for finding information, an automatic follow-up like “Can you describe what made it difficult to find the info you needed?” can surface actionable fixes fast.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? Include "Other" when your list of options might miss less-common but valuable answers. By following up with “Please specify,” you gain insights you may not have predicted—sometimes the best feedback comes from surprises.
NPS for SaaS customer documentation surveys: Does it make sense?
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a familiar metric for measuring customer advocacy, but it’s rarely used for documentation quality specifically—yet it can bring sharp focus. By asking something like, “How likely are you to recommend our documentation to a colleague?” you get a clear, benchmarkable score and open the door for powerful follow-ups. If you want to try this, you can use a prebuilt NPS survey for documentation quality crafted for SaaS customers.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions, especially when generated automatically and contextually by AI, transform surveys from static forms into real user conversations. This approach—detailed in our guide to automated follow-ups—boosts both specificity and clarity. A study saw that chatbot-based conversational surveys outperformed forms for quality in informativeness, relevance, and clarity. [3]
Specific makes these follow-ups seamless, using AI to probe deeper every time—just like a skilled interviewer, but instantly and at scale. No chasing people by email or decoding cryptic answers.
SaaS customer: “It’s hard to find details about advanced API features.”
AI follow-up: “Could you tell us more about which advanced features or endpoints were especially hard to find?”
How many followups to ask? Usually, 2–3 follow-ups get you richer insights without exhausting your respondent. With Specific, you can control this—the survey can stop follow-ups as soon as you’ve gathered enough context to act.
This makes it a conversational survey—instead of static forms, it feels like a real conversation where the AI listens, adjusts, and shows real interest. The flow is more natural, meaning people are more likely to trust and share.
AI survey response analysis is a breeze now. Don’t let the prospect of open text scare you off: tools like AI-powered analysis for survey responses mean you can quickly understand themes and patterns automatically, regardless of how much people write.
Ready to see smarter, real-time follow-ups in action? Try generating a conversational survey with AI and see the difference for yourself.
How to compose ChatGPT prompts for SaaS customer surveys about documentation quality
If you want to let ChatGPT or other AI help brainstorm, prompts are everything. Try starting with:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for SaaS customer survey about documentation quality.
This is just a start—AI works best when you give it context: who you are, what you want to achieve, or specific pain points. Example:
As a product manager at a SaaS company focused on developer tools, suggest 10 open-ended questions to understand how experienced devs use, struggle with, or suggest improvements to our product documentation.
Once you have a draft, ask AI:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
From there, focus on the topics you value most. Write:
Generate 10 questions for categories [Navigation Experience], [Advanced Usage], [Onboarding Clarity].
What is a conversational survey and how does AI survey generation compare?
A conversational survey takes what’s best about old-fashioned interviews—real engagement, tailored follow-ups, and natural phrasing—and delivers it automatically via AI. Unlike static survey forms, the experience feels like chat, and it works brilliantly on mobile where people are used to messaging apps. The feedback reads more like real conversations, which leads to better engagement, higher completion rates, and richer insights.
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Conversational Surveys |
|---|---|
Static, fixed flow | Dynamic, adapts to each response |
Requires manual follow-up (e.g., via email) | Automatic contextual follow-ups in real time |
Time-consuming to analyze open text | AI summarizes and categorizes instantly |
Feels impersonal for users | Feels like a 1:1 conversation |
Why use AI for SaaS customer surveys? Response rates are higher, conversation quality goes up, and the overall process is far less painful—no more data wrangling or chasing unclear answers. Pre-notification can boost responses by 4–25% [2], and AI makes the survey feel personalized, improving completeness. See some AI survey examples and demos for inspiration.
Specific not only offers unbeatable survey creation flow with an intuitive AI-powered survey editor, but delivers a best-in-class conversational survey experience for both creators and users. When you’re ready to dive deeper, see our tips on how to quickly create a SaaS documentation survey.
See this documentation quality survey example now
Unlock insightful feedback with an AI-powered conversational survey—save time, deepen understanding, and make surveying effortless for everyone involved. Start creating your own today and discover insights you can act on immediately.