> ## 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.

# Launch a study

> Preview your study, go live to start collecting interviews, and publish changes to a study that is already live.

Going live gives your study a live link that participants can open, and sends their interviews to the study page. Before that, preview the study to try the interview yourself; after it, you can keep changing most of the study with **Save and publish**. To share the link once you're live, see [Share your study](/guides/broadcast-study).

**Before you start**

* The study is a draft, open in the Study Builder.
* The agent has a first name and the interview guide has an outreach message. **Preview** and **Go live** stay unavailable until both exist.
* Your organization has a paid plan or free-trial interviews left. See [Usage](/account/usage).

Going live locks the interview guide's items; everything else stays editable. To adjust how the agent handles an item, edit the [research notes](/guides/agent-notes). To change the items themselves, [duplicate the study](/guides/manage-studies) and launch the copy.

## Preview the study

In the Study Builder, click **Preview** and answer as a participant would.

* The preview restarts when you change the agent, or when you click **Reset preview**.
* **Copy test link** copies a full-page link your teammates can open in their own browser. On a computer, the test link has a **Debug menu** with **Reset** and **Locale**.

Preview and test-link interviews stay out of your results: they don't appear on the study page, in its metrics or insights, and they don't count toward the [completed interview limit](/guides/end-study). The test link works while the study is a draft or live.

<h2 id="check-the-study">
  Check the study before going live <Badge>Optional</Badge>
</h2>

* **Study quality**: the chip in the builder's top bar lists issues. **Fix** on an issue, or **Fix all issues**, has the builder chat correct it. The check doesn't block going live.
* **Run synthetic users test**: in the preview, this opens a page where synthetic participants take the interview, so you can see how it plays out before real participants arrive. Their interviews stay out of your results.

## Go live

In the Study Builder's top bar, click **Go live**, then confirm with **Switch to live**. The live link is in the study page header; click it to copy it. Every interview from the live link appears on the study page.

## Edit a live study

Changes to a live study wait as unpublished changes until you publish them, so participants never see a half-finished edit.

On the study page, click **Study settings**, open **Brief** (or **Reward**), make your changes, and click **Save and publish**. New interviews use the updated study.

Two settings apply without **Save and publish**:

* **Study title** saves as soon as you rename the study.
* **Completed interview limit** applies as soon as you change it.

When you add a language, **Save and publish** waits until the questions are translated into it.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Preview or Go live is unavailable">
    The agent has no first name, or the guide has no outreach message. Hover **Preview** to see which is missing, then click **Set up agent** or **Add outreach** to jump to it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Go live stays disabled with a translating notice">
    Pillow is translating your questions into the study's languages. **Go live** unlocks when every language is ready.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Go live opens a Free trial ended dialog">
    Your organization has used its free-trial interviews and has no paid plan, so it can't take a study live. Click **Talk to us** in the dialog to set up a plan.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The test link shows my previous test interview">
    The browser resumes its last interview. Open the **Debug menu** and click **Reset**, or use a private window.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Studies" icon="layers" href="/concepts/studies">
    Draft, Live, and Ended, and what each allows.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>