Platform access level: Org Admins, Managers, and Writers (anyone who builds courses).
A survey is Arist's content type for asking instead of teaching. It's a standalone set of questions that measures what learners know, how they feel, or what they need, delivered in the same tools they already use for courses. Survey logic then turns the answers into action, so one survey can enroll each learner in the right course automatically, like the version in their preferred language, without anyone touching a roster. This guide walks through building a survey end to end, and it's for anyone who builds courses in Arist.
1. When to use a survey
Reach for a survey when the goal is to learn something from your learners rather than teach them something. Three jobs come up again and again:
Test current knowledge: Send a survey before a course launches to capture what learners already know, so you have a baseline to compare against after the training.
Gather feedback: Ask learners what they thought of a course, a program, or a rollout while the experience is still fresh.
Route learners: Ask one question, like which language a learner prefers, and let survey logic enroll each learner in the matching course automatically. This is the fastest way to get the right version of a course to everyone.
Note: The Confidence lift survey, NPS survey, and Learner sentiment question are Course benchmarks you add inside a course from Add content, not standalone surveys. For those, and for the question blocks inside lessons, see Using Question Types and AI Assessment.
2. Create the survey
Surveys start where every piece of content starts, on the Content page.
Open the Content page and select Create new.
Select Survey.
Fill in the About survey form, then select Save and continue.
The form asks for three things:
Field | What to enter |
Survey name | Name the survey so its job is obvious at a glance; a routing survey can take its question as its name, like "Which language would you prefer for your course content?" |
Survey description | Summarize the survey's content and objectives. Learners see this description on the self-enrollment page and the manage enrollment page. |
Language | Pick the language this version is written in. You can always add more translations with AI later. |
Saving opens the survey editor.
The outline holds the survey's two content pieces, the Welcome message learners get first and the Survey questions themselves. Under Details, About survey keeps the same three fields you just filled in so you can rename or re-describe the survey at any point, Settings covers how the survey identifies itself when it sends, and Logic is where answers turn into action. Select Schedule at the top right once the survey is ready to send.
3. Write the welcome message
Select Welcome message at the top of the outline. The welcome message is the first message learners receive, so use it to say what the survey is about and how quick it is to answer. Both pieces of the screen are optional:
Media: Upload an image, GIF, or video, or link to an external video or GIF. Uploads accept jpg, png, gif, mp4, mov, wmv, and avi files, up to 5MB for images and 500MB or 15 minutes for video, and videos work best kept under 5 minutes.
Welcome message: Introduce the survey to learners in a sentence or two. A learner who knows why you're asking is far more likely to answer.
4. Add survey questions
Select Survey in the outline. A new survey starts empty, with a reminder that it needs at least one question, so select Add block to add your first one. This is the same editing surface and the same Add block control that courses use, covered in Using the Content Editor.
The Add block window offers the same blocks a lesson uses:
Multiple choice question: Learners answer with one or more pre-selected options. This is the only type survey logic can branch on, so use it for any question that should trigger an action.
Open-ended question: Learners answer with a written response, in their own words.
Rating question: Learners answer with a numeric rating on a scale.
Media: Send learners an image or video alongside the questions. It isn't a question at all.
For the routing use case, add a Multiple choice question with the prompt "Which language would you prefer for your course content?" and one answer option per language you support, like English, French, German, and Spanish. Each answer option can carry an optional Response to learner, the reply Arist sends back when that option is picked, and a Correct answer checkbox for scored questions. A routing question has no right answer, so leave the checkboxes unchecked.
Tip: Every answer option becomes a branch survey logic can act on, so keep the options short and distinct, add one option per outcome you plan to route, and leave Multiple correct answers unchecked on any question you plan to branch on.
5. Branch answers with survey logic
Survey logic is where a survey starts working for you. It creates conditional logic based on answers to questions, so the moment a learner answers, Arist acts on their behalf. Select Logic under Details to see every rule you have built for this survey, each with its own status, and to add another with Create new.
To build a rule:
Select Create new on the Logic page.
Under Select question for logic, pick the multiple choice question to branch on. Only one question can be used per automation.
Under Action, pick what happens when a learner answers.
Four actions are available, and each one maps the learner's answer to a result:
Action | What it does when a learner answers |
Enroll user | Enrolls the learner in the schedule you assign to their answer, so each answer can lead to a different course. |
Update user's timezone | Sets the learner's timezone to the value you map to their answer. |
Update user's preferred delivery method | Sets the delivery method the learner's future content uses. |
Update user's language | Sets the language on the learner's profile. |
Whichever action you pick, the panel then lists every answer option as its own If the user selects: row, and you assign a value to at least one of them. Select Create automation to save the rule; it appears in the Logic list with its status and name, and its toggle switches it between Enabled and Disabled. An enabled automation's question and action are locked, so disable it first if you need to edit it.
Important: Survey logic only works on multiple choice questions, and a question with Multiple correct answers turned on is ineligible. Each question can drive one automation, and each action can be used only once per survey, so a survey can have one Enroll user rule, one Update user's language rule, and so on. Map every branch you need into the answer rows of a single question rather than splitting it across questions.
Survey logic branches on this survey's own answers. To trigger enrollment from anything else, like a course completion, a cohort addition, or learner metadata, build the rule on the Automations page instead; see Setting Up Automations.
6. Route learners to the right language version
The whole routing use case comes down to two pieces. One survey question asks for a learner's preferred language, and survey logic enrolls each learner in the matching version of the course. Learners get training they can actually read, and you never sort a roster by language again. You need three things in place:
A course version per language: Build or translate the course into each language you offer. Translating an Existing Course creates the translated versions with AI.
A schedule per version: The Enroll user action enrolls learners through a schedule, so each language version needs its own schedule before the logic can point at it. See Scheduling and Delivering Courses.
One language question: Add a multiple choice question asking which language the learner prefers, with one answer option per language version and no correct answers marked.
Then wire the answers to the schedules:
Select Logic under Details, then Create new.
Under Select question for logic, pick the language question.
Under Action, pick Enroll user. The panel reminds you to assign content to at least one of the answer options.
In each If the user selects: row, open Select a schedule and pick the schedule for that language's course version, English to the English schedule, French to the French schedule, and so on through every language you offer.
Select Create automation, then switch the automation to Enabled.
From then on the routing runs itself. A learner who answers French is enrolled in the French version's schedule the moment they answer, and the same happens in every other language. Because each question powers one automation, decide whether the language answer should enroll the learner or update the language on their profile, and build the automation for the one you pick.
7. Review the survey settings
Select Settings under Details to fill in how the survey identifies itself when it goes out.
Four fields cover it:
Setting | What to enter |
Author name | Enter the name the survey should credit as its author. This one is required. |
Topic tags | Add up to 3 tags to make the survey easier to filter. Optional. |
External ID | Add an ID if you sync results with an external learning system. Optional. |
Content type | Choose what kind of messaging this is. Required, and its own note reads "Required by carrier". |
Below the fields, Settings shows the Preferred SMS number your survey sends from, with a link to request a dedicated toll free number if your organization wants its own.
8. Preview, schedule, and send
Before the survey goes to learners, check it over from the Actions menu at the top right.
Use Actions to Preview, Translate, Generate images, Download, or Shorten link the survey. Preview delivers the survey to you so you experience it exactly as learners will, and Translate adds more language versions of the survey itself.
Try it: Select Actions, then Preview, and take your survey right now. Answer the language question yourself and check that every option reads clearly on the delivery method your learners use.
When the survey is ready, select Schedule at the top right. Surveys deliver through schedules exactly like courses, to the learners, cohorts, and delivery methods you choose, and Scheduling and Delivering Courses walks through every option. Once the survey is out, the logic you built fires as the answers come in, with no extra step from you.
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Note: Need help at any point? Reach out to your Arist Customer Success contact, or email [email protected].