Skipper is aytm's AI assistant. It works across the platform—drafting and translating surveys in the Survey Editor, analyzing results on the Stats page, coding open ends, translating verbatims, and holding conversations with respondents. This article covers each Skipper tool, where to find it, and how to use it.
⚠️ Note: Several Skipper tools are feature-gated or sold as add-ons. If a tool described here doesn't appear in your account, or appears as an upgrade button, contact your account manager. Gating requirements are called out in each section.
In This Article
- Skipper Draft
- Skipper Translate
- Skipper Explore
- Skipper Autocode
- Verbatim Skipper Translation
- Conversation AI
Skipper Draft
Skipper Draft is an AI tool on the Survey Editor page that generates a survey draft from your prompt, so you can start from a working questionnaire instead of a blank page.
- Type your survey prompt into the Skipper Draft text box and click Generate survey draft. Review and modify the result to make sure it meets your study's needs.
- Use Skipper – suggest next questions to append additional questions to your draft.
- Use Skipper – Modify to adapt existing questions.
- Use Resolve to fit to address issues such as excessive characters or an excessive number of answer options.
Learn more about Skipper Draft and Skipper Draft Features in the aytm Help Center.
Skipper Translate
Skipper Translate is an automated translation tool that translates survey text into the additional languages on your project, streamlining survey creation for multi-country studies.
⚠️ Note: Skipper Translate requires the editor translation feature. Adding a second language on the Target Market page requires the multilingual option—without it, the Language dropdown is single-select.
- Select a second language from the Language dropdown on the Target Market page.
- Program your survey in the researcher's language, then click Languages in the Survey Editor to open the Translations table.
- Click the down arrow next to the alternate language column header and choose one of the Skipper translation actions:
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Translate from [source] to [target] | Translates the named source column into the target column. |
| Translate this column to [target] | Translates the column you opened the menu on into the target language. |
| Translate and copy from this column to [target] | Translates this column and writes the result into the target column. |
| Delete translation | Clears the translated content from the column. |
Learn more about Skipper Translate in the aytm Help Center.
Skipper Explore
Skipper Explore is an AI-powered tool on the Stats page that delivers faster, automated analysis of survey data. It generates statistical conclusions using proven models within the aytm platform and expresses them as concise, readable statements. Skipper Explore reads top-line summary data, runs significance tests, and summarizes any statistically significant differences.
- Click Explore with Skipper next to a question to generate an editable Storytelling Note summarizing the insights.
- To analyze against banners, open the Banners panel in the sidebar before running Explore. Explore reads whatever is set there at the moment you click it.
- In the Banners panel, set the Confidence level and Secondary Confidence level sliders.
- Under Banner Groups, click Add banner and choose the banners you want to analyze against.
- Click Explore with Skipper to analyze the question with the selected banners.
💡 Tip: If no banners are set in the sidebar, Explore runs on the question alone. The banner dropdown is disabled once your selection exceeds 1,000 computed connections—reduce the number of banners or banner groups to re-enable it.
Learn more about Skipper Explore in the aytm Help Center.
Skipper Autocoding
Skipper Autocode is an AI-driven tool that streamlines coding of open-ended survey responses. It detects themes in the response data and builds or applies a codebook against them. It works on Open-Ended Questions, Form Questions, and Open-Ended answer options.
⚠️ Note: Skipper Autocode is a paid add-on. Without it, the feature appears locked with the message "Purchase Skipper Autocode to use OE coding." Coding runs are always user-triggered—nothing is coded automatically when you add an open-ended question.
- Open the Coding tab in the left sidebar. It appears once the survey has at least one open-ended question.
- Select the question from the dropdown. You can also select a question Group to cover several questions in one run.
- Choose a mode from the dropdown:
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Autocode | Builds a codebook from the verbatims and applies it. |
| Apply codebook | Applies codes from an existing codebook. Available only when the survey already has a codebook containing tags. |
| Guided autocode | Expands an existing codebook from your draft codes or a topic you provide, then applies it to the verbatims. Available only when the survey already has at least one codebook. |
- If you chose Apply codebook or Guided autocode, select the codebook from the third dropdown.
- Click the run button—Run autocode, Apply codebook, or Run guided autocode, depending on the mode.
💡 Tip: To build a codebook quickly, paste multi-line text into Add a new codebook. The first line becomes the codebook name and each remaining line becomes a code.
Learn more about Skipper Autocode in the aytm Help Center.
Verbatim Skipper Translation
Verbatim Skipper Translation lets researchers review open-ended responses in English or in the researcher language, making multilingual survey analysis easier.
⚠️ Note: Verbatim translation is a paid add-on. Without it, the control renders as an upgrade button.
- On the Stats page, use the header switch labeled [N] verbatims to move from the Quant report to the verbatim view.
- Click the Languages icon next to the search bar to open a menu of available views.
- Select a view:
- Show original (shown as Original with the response languages, e.g., FR, DE)—view verbatims in the language the respondent used.
- EN—view the English translation of all verbatims.
- Researcher language—view translations in the project's researcher language. This option appears only when the researcher language is not English.
💡 Tip: Selecting a language that has missing translations starts a background job. You'll see a Translating your verbatims – n/N progress indicator rather than an instant switch.
Learn more about Verbatim Skipper Translation in the aytm Help Center.
Conversation AI
Conversation AI is a question type that lets respondents hold a conversation with Skipper on topics you choose.
- Click Add a question in the Survey Editor.
- Select the Conversation AI question type, then type or paste your topic or prompt into the Let's chat about field.
- Click the talking point field and add the main topics you want to explore. Talking points guide the conversation and are shaped further by the Input, Depth, and Style settings.
⚠️ Note: The mobile-safe limit is 7 talking points at up to 120 characters each. Extended limits allow up to 15 talking points at up to 150 characters. You can add beyond the base limit, but you'll see an over-limit warning.
Learn more about Conversation AI in the aytm Help Center.