Prefill lets you automatically populate Survey questions with visit data you already have, like stay details, booking information, or service interactions. Instead of asking guests for information you already know, you can prefill their answers and choose whether each question stays visible or hides from view. The result is a shorter, more personal Survey that respects your guests' time.
- Save guests time by skipping questions you can already answer for them
- Personalize each Survey with details specific to that guest's stay
- Reduce drop-off by keeping surveys short and relevant
- Keep control over what guests see with editable or hidden display options
- Update prefill rules anytime without rebuilding your questionnaire
How Prefill Works
Prefill connects a question in your questionnaire to a visit data point, such as a guest's first name, room number, or check-in date. When a guest opens the Survey through an email link that carries their visit data, CXP fills in the matching answer automatically. You decide whether the guest sees that filled-in answer or whether the question stays hidden.
Setting Up a Pre-fill Rule
- Open the questionnaire editor and go to the Rules step.
- Expand the question you want to prefill.
- Find the Pre-fill Answer section. Click the information icon if you want a quick refresher on how prefill works.
- Open the dropdown above the section title and select a visit data point. The default setting is Don't Pre-fill, so nothing changes until you pick one.
- Choose a display option for the prefilled question: Editable or Hidden.
Note: Some question types let you combine more than one visit data point into a single rule. Check the mapping table below to see what's available for each question type.
Display Options
- Editable: The guest sees the question and the prefilled answer, and can change it if needed.
- Hidden: The guest never sees the question, but CXP still submits the prefilled answer on their behalf.
Note: No matter which display option you choose, the question always appears in the questionnaire preview inside the editor, so you can review it before it goes live.
Which Visit Data Points You Can Use
Each question type only accepts certain kinds of visit data, and some allow you to combine more than one data point. This keeps your rules valid and avoids pairing incompatible data with a question.
| Question Type | Visit Data Point Type | Data Points You Can Combine |
|---|---|---|
| Single Select | Single select, free text | 1 |
| Multi Select | Single select, free text | 1 |
| Rating Scale | Number | 1 |
| NPS | Number | 1 |
| Text - Text | Free text | Up to 2 |
| Text - Email | Free text | 1 |
| Text - Phone | Free text | 1 |
| Number | Number | 1 |
| Date | Date | 1 |
| Checkbox | Not available | Not available |
Note: Checkbox questions don't support prefill by visit data.
How Prefill Behaves in the Submission UI
- Public Survey link: Guests see all questions, but nothing is prefilled since there's no visit data attached to the link.
- Email link with visit data: CXP applies your prefill rules automatically, and matching questions fill in based on the available visit data.
Editing an Existing Pre-fill Rule
- Open the questionnaire and go to the Rules step. Any question with a prefill rule already configured shows its current visit data point and display option.
- Update the visit data point, the display option, or both. Your changes appear in the editor right away.
- Click Save to apply your changes.
Once saved, the updated rule applies to every Survey preview and submission going forward.
What Happens When Visit Data Points Change
- A visit data point is deleted: The condition dropdown shows a "visit data point not found" message, and that rule stops working. The Survey still submits normally, guests just won't see that answer prefilled.
- A visit data point is renamed: The editor shows the new name automatically, and the rule keeps working exactly as before.
- A new visit data point is added: It shows up right away in the condition dropdown, ready to use in a new or existing rule.