Lookback migration
✓ sessions and findings, moved before the deadline
On this page
Teams usually outgrow Lookback when the session stops being the hard part. Finding the right participants, scheduling them, paying them and keeping findings searchable across studies all happen outside Lookback, in three or four other tools.
Great Question runs the session and the work around it. This guide covers what to export from Lookback, how to bring it in, how features map, and a plan that fits inside Lookback's deletion window.
Comparing first?
Great Question vs Lookback: the feature-by-feature comparison
All comparisons: Great Question against 14 research tools
Mind the 90-day window
Trial accounts get 30 days, and can't download recordings or notes at all until they upgrade. If you need longer, Lookback offers an archive plan.
Lookback keeps a paid account's sessions for 90 days after cancellation, then deletes them (Lookback help). Export before you cancel, not after.
What moves across, and what doesn't
Your Lookback data | How to export it | Where it goes in Great Question |
|---|---|---|
| Your Lookback dataSession recordings | How to export itDownload from the player's Share menu, one session at a time | Where it goes in Great QuestionRepository upload, transcribed automatically |
| Your Lookback dataTranscripts | How to export itExport per session from the Round view, with timestamps | Where it goes in Great QuestionKept as an archive; transcripts regenerate from the uploaded video |
| Your Lookback dataFindings and themes | How to export itCSV export, with themes as a column | Where it goes in Great QuestionRecreated as tags and highlights, or kept as an archive |
| Your Lookback dataParticipants | How to export itYour own list, or your recruiting tool's export | Where it goes in Great QuestionCSV import into your candidate panel |
| Your Lookback dataRound setups and tasks | How to export itCopy the tasks and questions out manually | Where it goes in Great QuestionRebuilt as study templates |
Step by step
1. Download your recordings
Open each session in Lookback's player and use the Share menu to download the recording (Lookback help). Lookback doesn't document a bulk export, so start with the sessions your team still cites and work backwards.
Great Question accepts MP4, M4V, MOV and MP3 files. If a download comes out in another format, convert it before uploading.
2. Export transcripts and findings
Transcripts export one session at a time from the Round view (Lookback help). Findings export as a CSV with themes as a column (Lookback help). Keep both as your archive: uploading the video gives you a fresh transcript in Great Question, and the findings CSV is the quickest way to rebuild your tag list.
3. Gather your participants
Lookback isn't a participant database, so your list lives wherever you recruited: a spreadsheet, your CRM, or User Interviews. Pull it into one CSV with email, name, and the attributes you filter on.
- Recruited through User Interviews? See how to export from User Interviews.
- Recruiting from your own customers? Export from your CRM, or connect Salesforce on Enterprise.
4. Import into Great Question
- Tags: create tags from the themes column of your findings CSV, so imported and new sessions are filed the same way.
- Participants: go to Candidates, Add Candidates, Import from CSV, and map each column to an attribute (importing candidates).
- Recordings: go to Repository, New, Upload files. Link each recording to its participant and tag it. Transcripts generate automatically (uploading recordings).
5. Rebuild your recurring rounds, then cut over
Rebuild the studies you run every month as templates, then run the next real one on Great Question while Lookback is still live. Once the first study has gone end to end, from invite to incentive to highlight reel, cancel Lookback with time to spare inside the 90 days.
How Lookback features map to Great Question
Lookback | Great Question |
|---|---|
| LookbackModerated sessions | Great QuestionInterviews on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, with scheduling built in |
| LookbackUnmoderated tasks | Great QuestionUnmoderated prototype and website tests |
| LookbackLive stakeholder view | Great QuestionObserver rooms, with unlimited observers on every plan |
| LookbackAI follow-ups on unmoderated tasks | Great QuestionAI-moderated interviews, an Enterprise add-on |
| LookbackFindings, Eureka and reels | Great QuestionAI synthesis, highlights and reels |
| LookbackRecruiting via User Interviews | Great QuestionYour own participant panel, plus Respondent (and User Interviews on Enterprise) |
| LookbackLookback MCP | Great QuestionGreat Question MCP, on Enterprise |
A four-week switching plan
Week | What happens |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | What happensDownload the recordings, transcripts and findings you're keeping. Gather participants into one CSV. |
| Week 2 | What happensCreate tags, import participants, upload recordings, connect calendars and incentives. |
| Week 3 | What happensRun one real study in your new workspace while Lookback is still live. |
| Week 4 | What happensRebuild remaining templates and cancel Lookback, well inside the 90-day window. |
Talk it through with us
If you're weighing the move, bring a recent Lookback round to a demo and we'll show you the same study in Great Question, from recruiting to the repository.
Planning a switch
See a Lookback round rebuilt in Great Question
Recruiting, scheduling, the session, incentives and the repository, on your own use case.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Lookback keep my data after I cancel?
Lookback keeps a paid account's sessions for 90 days after cancellation, then deletes them. Trial accounts get 30 days. Deleted recordings are fully purged after 120 days.
Can I bulk export recordings from Lookback?
Lookback's help centre doesn't document a bulk export or an export API. Recordings download one session at a time from the player's Share menu.
Do I need to import my Lookback transcripts?
No. Upload the recording and Great Question transcribes it automatically, separated by speaker. Keep the exported transcripts as an archive.
Is Lookback shutting down?
No. Lookback is actively maintained and released AI moderation and an MCP server in April 2026. Teams move for the workflow around the session, not because Lookback is going away.
