---
title: 'Frequently Asked Questions'
description: 'Short answers to frequently asked questions about the service.'
type: doc
locale: en
canonical: 'https://research.teal.band/en/docs/help/faq'
updated: '2026-07-30'
---

# Frequently Asked Questions

Short answers to frequently asked questions about the service.

The FAQ answers questions that usually arise before the first survey or immediately after it. If you need a step-by-step guide, go to the related articles: about [organization settings](https://research.teal.band/en/docs/organization/settings.md), [taking a survey](https://research.teal.band/en/docs/surveys/taking-survey.md), [billing](https://research.teal.band/en/docs/account/billing-plans.md), and [troubleshooting](https://research.teal.band/en/docs/help/troubleshooting.md).

## Privacy

**Is it really anonymous?** The participant takes the survey under a pseudonym, not their name — the same in every organization. No one sees the raw answers: only anonymized answers, aggregates, and summaries are shown when there is enough data for safe display.

**Who sees my answers after taking the survey?** The raw answers are not shown to the manager, team, or other participants. After the results are summarized, the platform shows the overall picture: results, summaries, growth points, ideas, and recommendations. The participant's personal result is separated from the management analytics.

**Why is the discussion visible to everyone if the survey is anonymized?** Anonymization protects the authorship of the initial response. Collaboration after the results is open: growth points, ideas, and comments are visible to participants so the team can agree on actions.

**Can a survey be made non-anonymous?** No. Surveys are anonymized in every organization and there is nothing to choose — the conditions are the same everywhere and do not change retroactively. A participant may reveal their name if they want to join the discussion, and even then their answers stay hidden.

## Surveys and results

**Why is a one-time code sent by email needed?** The code confirms that the participant is using their own address and protects the survey from unauthorized or repeat taking. The email is needed for logging in, not for revealing raw answers.

**Why does AI ask a follow-up question?** The follow-up helps turn a short or overly general comment into a concrete signal. You can answer it or skip it. If the answer is already clear, the follow-up question may not appear.

**When do the results appear?** Results appear after the measurement is summarized. Before that, answers may already be collected, but analytics, growth points, and recommendations are not yet ready.

**Why are some results hidden?** The platform does not show details if there is little data and it could be used to guess who answered. This restriction protects privacy: it is better to show a less detailed picture than to compromise response security.

## AI and payment

**What are tokens deducted for?** Tokens are deducted for AI operations: survey generation, question refinement, follow-up questions during the survey, summarizing results, reports, and similar actions where the platform calls on AI. Regular page viewing, reading results, and discussing growth points do not consume tokens by themselves.

**What happens if the balance runs out?** Already created data does not disappear: surveys, answers, results, and growth points remain in place. On the basic plan, new AI operations are unavailable without a positive balance until it is topped up or the terms of use are changed.

**Does the platform make decisions for the team?** No. AI helps collect and summarize the response, find repeating signals, and suggest practices from the knowledge base. What to do with a growth point, which idea to choose, and how to verify the result is decided by people.

## Related pages

- [Organization settings](https://research.teal.band/en/docs/organization/settings.md) — Name, logo, anonymity, and invitations.
- [Billing and Plans](https://research.teal.band/en/docs/account/billing-plans.md) — Balance, plan, promo codes, and AI feature limits.
- [Taking a survey](https://research.teal.band/en/docs/surveys/taking-survey.md) — How a participant enters a survey, answers questions, and what happens with privacy.

## Read next

- [Troubleshooting](https://research.teal.band/en/docs/help/troubleshooting.md) — Typical situations and reasons why something is not visible or not working.