> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trypillow.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Studies

> What a study is and how its lifecycle works.

A **study** is a structured interview program powered by your Researcher Agent. You define what you want to learn, and your agent conducts interviews with your users to gather insights.

## Study components

A study is built from these elements:

| Component           | Description                                                                          |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Goals**           | The questions you want answered, what you're trying to learn from users              |
| **Persona**         | Who you want to interview (demographics, behavior, attributes)                       |
| **Agent**           | Your Researcher Agent's personality (name, gender, look, tone, reveal policy)        |
| **Outreach**        | The first message users see when they open the study link                            |
| **Reward**          | An optional incentive your agent offers participants for completing the interview    |
| **Interview depth** | How many questions and follow-ups the agent asks (Express, Quick, Balanced, or Deep) |

## Study statuses

A study moves through different statuses during its lifecycle:

| Status      | Description                                                   |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Draft**   | Being configured. Not accessible to users.                    |
| **Testing** | Test mode active. Interviews are excluded from insights.      |
| **Live**    | Collecting real responses. Interviews contribute to insights. |
| **Ended**   | Terminated. Read-only, no new interviews.                     |

Once a study is Ended, it can't be reactivated.

## Deleting a study

You can permanently delete one or more studies from the study table.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Select studies">
    In the study list, check the box next to the studies you want to delete.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Delete">
    Click the **Delete** button in the toolbar that appears at the bottom of the screen.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm deletion">
    Review the confirmation dialog and click **Delete** to proceed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

If any selected studies are currently **Live** or **Testing**, the dialog warns you before proceeding.

<Warning>
  Deleting a study permanently removes all its data, including interview history. This action cannot be undone.
</Warning>

## Key metrics

Each study tracks important metrics:

* **Opens**: how many people started an interview
* **Interviews**: how many people replied at least once
* **Reply rate**: Interviews ÷ Opens, as a percentage

These metrics help you understand how effectively your study is reaching and engaging users. See [Browse and filter studies](/guides/browse-studies) to sort and filter by them.

## What's next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create a study" icon="plus" href="/guides/create-study">
    Learn how to set up your first study.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Test vs. live mode" icon="flask-conical" href="/guides/test-vs-live">
    Understand when to test and when to go live.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Broadcast your study" icon="share" href="/guides/broadcast-study">
    Share your study link with users.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Target SDK audiences" icon="target" href="/guides/audience-targeting">
    Automatically launch studies to specific user cohorts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Interviews" icon="messages-square" href="/concepts/interviews">
    Understand how agent interviews work.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>