Branching logic lets you change the path through a survey based on the answers a respondent gives. Instead of sending everyone through the same sequence, you can ask relevant follow-up questions, skip steps that do not apply, or end the survey when you already have the information you need.
Respondents still experience a normal one-question-at-a-time survey. The routing happens quietly between steps, so the survey feels shorter and more personal.
When to use branching logic
Branching is useful whenever the next question depends on an earlier answer. Common examples include:
Product-market fit surveys — ask highly disappointed users what benefit they value most, and ask less engaged users what is missing.
NPS or satisfaction follow-ups — route lower ratings to an improvement question and higher ratings to a referral or testimonial prompt.
Lead qualification — continue with detailed questions only when a respondent meets your criteria.
Onboarding research — tailor questions to a role, company type, use case, or experience level.
Feature research — skip detailed questions when someone has not used the feature being discussed.
Before you begin
Plan the possible paths before adding rules. List the questions every respondent should see, the answers that require a follow-up, and where each path should rejoin or end.
Add all survey questions first whenever possible. Userorbit only allows routes to later questions or the survey ending, which keeps paths forward-only and prevents loops.
Open the branching logic editor
Open an existing survey or create a new one.
Stay on the Questions tab and add the questions and ending message you need.
In the Preview panel, select Add branching logic. After you add a rule, this button is labeled Manage branching logic.
The editor shows every question in order, followed by the survey ending. Questions without rules use an Always route, which is set to Next step by default.
Add a branching rule
Find the question where the path should change and select Add rule.
Under If, choose the question, operator, and answer value that should activate the rule. A condition can use the current question or an eligible earlier question.
Under Then, choose a later question or Survey ending.
Set the Else route. This controls what happens when none of the rules for that step match.
Add more rules when different answers should take different paths.
How rule order works
Rules are checked from top to bottom. As soon as one rule matches, Userorbit follows that route and stops checking the remaining rules for the step.
If two rules could both match, place the more specific rule first. Use the rule menu to move a rule up or down. When no rule matches, the Else route is used.
Combine multiple conditions
Select Add condition to build a rule from more than one answer. Choose:
AND when every condition must match.
OR when any condition can match.
You can combine the current answer with answers from eligible earlier questions. An unanswered question does not satisfy a condition.
Supported question types and operators
| Question type | Available operators |
|---|---|
| Rating | is, is not, is less than, is at most, is greater than, is at least, is between |
| Dropdown | is, is not |
| Buttons / single choice | is, is not |
| Multi-select | contains any of, contains all of, contains none of |
Text questions and message steps cannot be used as conditions because their responses are open-ended. They can still appear in a branched path and can use an Always route to continue, jump forward, or end the survey.
For rating rules, values must stay within the configured rating scale. The is between operator includes both boundary values, and the lower value must come first.
Choose a destination
A rule or default route can send a respondent to:
Next step
Any later question
Survey ending
You cannot route to the same question or an earlier question. Forward-only paths prevent circular surveys and make every route possible to complete.
Test every path before publishing
Use the survey preview to answer the survey as a respondent. Reset the preview and test each possible route, including the Else path.
For every path, confirm that:
The expected follow-up question appears.
Irrelevant questions are skipped.
The Back action returns to the previous question the respondent actually visited.
Changing an earlier answer recalculates the path correctly.
Each route reaches the intended ending.
If a respondent changes an earlier answer, Userorbit recalculates the route and removes answers from steps that are no longer part of the valid path.
Edit a survey with existing logic
Userorbit validates branching before a survey can be saved or published. You will be asked to fix the logic if a rule references a missing question or answer, uses an unsupported operator, contains an invalid rating value, or points to an unavailable destination.
If you delete a question referenced by branching logic, Userorbit shows how many references will be affected and removes those conditions or rules after confirmation. If you rename or remove an answer used by a rule, review and update the affected rule before saving.
Responses and analytics
Userorbit stores the questions a respondent actually visited and the decisions that determined the route. In completed responses, a question that was intentionally bypassed is labeled Skipped by logic.
Survey analytics calculate reach and completion from the path each respondent was shown. Questions intentionally skipped by branching are not treated as drop-off.
Frequently asked questions
Can I branch from a text response?
No. Branching conditions are available for rating, dropdown, buttons, and multi-select questions. Text and message steps can be destinations, but not condition sources.
Can a rule send someone back to an earlier question?
No. Destinations must be later in the survey or the survey ending.
What happens when no rule matches?
Userorbit follows the Else route. If you have not changed it, the respondent continues to the next step.
Can one rule use more than one answer?
Yes. Add conditions and choose AND or OR. Conditions can reference the current question and eligible earlier questions.
How should overlapping rules be ordered?
Put the most specific rule first. Userorbit uses the first matching rule and does not evaluate the rules below it.