Interactive video types: 6 kinds, what each one does, and how to build it

The six interactive video types compared

Interactive video types by the job they do (features checked October 2026)

Type	The question it answers	Main interactions	What you measure	Live example
Branching video	What does this viewer want to see?	Buttons, hotspots, menus that jump or switch video	Share of viewers on each path	Hydrogen safety module
Shoppable video	Which product does this viewer want?	Product hotspots, product cards, add to cart	Product clicks, cart adds, orders	Jacket hotspots
Lead capture video	Who is watching?	In-video form, gated content	Leads and what each lead watched	Lead capture
Interactive training video	Did the learner understand?	Scored questions, retries, locked seeking	Score, attempts, completion	In-video assessment
Personalized video	Does this feel made for the viewer?	Variables, personalized links, conditional logic	Actions by each named viewer	Personalization demo
Video survey or poll	What does the viewer think?	Rating, Likert, poll, free, video, or voice answers	Answer counts and comments	Trail poll

A type describes the whole video and its goal. An interaction is one element inside it, such as a button or a question. For a definition of interactive video and its building blocks, read what interactive video is. To play more finished videos in each format, see our interactive video examples.

How to choose an interactive video type

Start with the question you need the video to answer, then pick the type from the table. Some rules of thumb:

• If someone must prove they learned something, build a training video, even if the audience is customers.
• If viewers arrive with different needs, build a branching video, so each person sees only their part.
• If the video is the first touch with a prospect, add lead capture, and place the form after the video has shown something useful.
• If you already know who will watch, such as a named prospect or a new hire, personalize it.
• If you sell products that appear on screen, make them clickable.

Video length changes how much interaction viewers use. Across 8.07 million views of 18,315 Mindstamp videos (2018 to October 2026), viewers of videos one minute or shorter took 0.58 actions per view on average, viewers of 5 to 10 minute videos took 3.20, and viewers of 10 to 20 minute videos took 6.70. These counts reflect how many interactions creators placed as well as how viewers behaved, so treat them as a pattern, not a target. In practice, a short clip suits one choice or button, and a longer training video can hold a question every few minutes.

Branching videos

In a branching video, the viewer's choice decides what plays next. It is also called a choose-your-own-adventure or choose-your-own-path video. Use it for product tours where buyers pick a feature, training scenarios where a decision has a consequence, support videos that fork on the symptom, and stories. Dräger's hydrogen safety module lets the viewer pick the detection technology they want to explore, with hotspots and file downloads along the way.

Mindstamp has three ways to move a viewer (branching help):

• Change Time jumps to another point in the same video, so all branches live in one file.
• Switch Video moves the viewer to another Mindstamp video, and each video keeps its own report.
• Switch to Previous Video returns the viewer to the video they came from, at the time they left it.

How to build a branching video

1. Draw the decision points and every destination on paper before you film or edit.
2. Choose one video with sections (Change Time) or separate videos (Switch Video). Separate videos are easier to update one at a time, but each one counts toward your plan's video total (what counts as a video).
3. Add buttons or hotspots at each decision point and set each one's click action.
4. Give viewers a way back, such as a menu button or Switch to Previous Video, so no path ends in a dead end.
5. Open More > See branching to check the map of video-to-video paths, then preview every path.

Measure the share of viewers who take each path. If almost nobody takes a branch, its label may be unclear. Our guide to interactive video branching covers branch types and path design, and how to create a choose-your-own-adventure video covers story planning.

Shoppable videos

A shoppable video lets viewers click the products they see and buy them, often without leaving the video. It suits product pages, recipe and how-to videos, lookbooks, and campaign landing pages. The format matters most when the product is easier to understand in motion than in a photo.

How to build a shoppable video

1. Place a hotspot over each product while it is clearly on screen. If the product moves, turn on Track motion so the hotspot follows it (hotspot help).
2. Set the click action. Show Card opens a product card over the video, Open Link opens the product page and pauses the video, and Add to Cart adds the product to an in-video cart (click actions).
3. For Add to Cart, connect the Shopify integration. The video pauses, a cart opens, and the viewer can change the quantity, keep watching, or check out.
4. To reward attention, give a discount code with Copy Text, which copies the code to the viewer's clipboard.

Measure clicks on each product, cart adds, and orders. Carts made in the video carry the Mindstamp video, play, and interaction IDs, so Shopify shows which video and which moment started each order. For channels, checkout options, and cost, read our interactive shoppable video guide. For hotspot placement, see video hotspots for ecommerce.

Lead capture videos

A lead capture video asks for contact details inside the player, so the viewer does not leave for a separate form. Every answer and click after the form is tied to that contact. Use it for webinar replays, product demos, gated guides, and sales outreach.

How to build a lead capture video

1. Choose the fields. Mindstamp offers Name, Email, Phone, and Custom ID, plus custom text, number, date, checkbox, or dropdown fields. Tick Required for the ones that matter (lead capture help).
2. Choose when the form appears: At start, First interaction, At time, or On interaction, such as a click on a download button.
3. Decide whether to Allow skipping. A skippable form lets viewers who will not share their details keep watching.
4. Send the leads on. HubSpot and Zapier are available on supported plans, and webhooks arrive after the viewing session ends, not during playback (webhook help). Salesforce integration is quoted per account; confirm its scope with Mindstamp before you plan automatic CRM updates (Salesforce).

Measure leads captured, and read what each lead watched and answered before and after the form. A form at the start suits content that is clearly worth the trade. Elsewhere, put the form after the first useful section. Our guide to video lead generation covers placement in more detail.

Interactive training videos

An interactive training video puts questions at the moment each concept is taught and records every learner's answers. A completion record from an LMS shows that someone reached the end. A scored question shows whether they understood. Use this type for onboarding, compliance, product training, and customer education.

How to build an interactive training video

1. Place a scored question right after each key concept. Multiple choice is the usual format, and Mindstamp has 13 question types in all. Our post on interactive video question types explains when to use each.
2. Decide what a wrong answer does. Repeat Until Correct asks the learner to try again and records every attempt. A Change Time action can send the learner back to the explanation instead (passing scores and retries).
3. For required training, turn off Allow Seeking, turn on Prevent passing required interactions, and turn off Allow skipping on each question that must be answered (prevent skipping).
4. Deliver it. Share a link, or export a SCORM package for your LMS in SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 3rd edition, or SCORM 2004 4th edition. The package reports completion and a score for each learner (SCORM export).
5. Set a minimum score where it matters: on a completion certificate, on completion emails, or on the completion report.

Measure the score, attempts per question, and completion for each learner. If most learners miss the same question, fix the explanation before the question. If you have a transcript, Generate questions on the transcript page drafts quiz questions for you to review (transcripts help). If you still need to produce the training video itself, Vidico's page on training and e-learning video production outlines the usual stages: planning and scripting, filming, editing, then distribution and evaluation. Our guides on creating an interactive video quiz and employee training videos go deeper.

Personalized videos

A personalized video shows details about the viewer, such as a name, company, or renewal date, and can change what happens next based on those details. One recording serves every recipient. Use it for sales outreach, onboarding, renewals, and account updates.

How to build a personalized video

1. Add placeholders to text, buttons, or questions, written as {{NAME}} or {{NAME|fallback}}. A viewer sees their own value first, then the fallback in the placeholder, then the value from Default variables (organization or video), and otherwise nothing.
2. Choose where values come from. You can add URL parameters with your CRM's merge fields, or create personalized links in Mindstamp one at a time or from a CSV file. Values in URL parameters are visible in the link, while personalized links show only a link ID (personalized links from a CRM). Answers from a lead capture form can also fill variables.
3. For many recipients, use bulk personalization to generate a link for each row of a spreadsheet.
4. Add conditional logic to show or hide an interaction based on a variable, for example a different offer for each company size.

Variables and personalized links are on supported plans, and conditional logic starts on the Pro plan. Measure what each named viewer watched, answered, and clicked, and compare paths across segments. Read our video personalization guide for the data side and the personalized video sales letter guide for a sales build.

Video surveys and polls

A video survey asks for opinions at the moment the video gives the viewer something to react to. Use it for product and course feedback, employee pulse checks, event planning, and market research. The trail poll example asks which trail issue an event should cover and opens a scene for each answer (the shop and event are fictional).

How to build a video survey

1. Pick a question type for each question:
   • Rating: one to five stars. The answer can be stored in a variable and used in conditional logic on supported plans.
   • Likert: a fixed five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree, in the viewer's language. You cannot change the labels, and the answer cannot be stored in a variable.
   • Display Poll: up to 5 answers, then a chart of how all viewers answered (question help).
   • Free response, video response, or voice response for comments. Viewers can record up to 120 seconds, and these answers are not scored (video and voice responses).
2. Decide which questions are required, and turn off Allow skipping only on those.
3. Branch on an answer when it changes what the viewer should see next, as the trail poll does.
4. Review the answers in reporting, or export them as a CSV file for analysis elsewhere.

Measure the answer split for each question and read the comments for reasons. Our guide on how to create a video survey covers question wording and tools.

How to combine interactive video types

Many interactive videos combine two types. Three common combinations:

• Training plus branching: a wrong answer jumps back to the explanation, and a right answer moves on.
• Lead capture plus personalization: the name from the form fills a placeholder later in the same video, and the report ties every later answer to that contact.
• Product quiz plus shoppable: a short quiz scores the answers and recommends one product with a link to buy it, as in the skin care product quiz.

Keep each video to one main goal, even when it mixes types. A video that asks for a lead, a score, and a purchase gives the viewer three reasons to stop. For how these types fit this year's video trends, read 6 video trends in 2026 and how to make each one interactive.

Common questions about interactive video types

What are the main types of interactive video?

Branching, shoppable, lead capture, training, personalized, and survey videos. Some lists also count 360-degree video, live streams with polls, and interactive films, which need different tools from the web-player videos in this guide.

Which interactive video type is easiest to start with?

A video you already have with one button or one question. A knowledge check at the end of a training clip or a button that books a meeting is quick to add, and you do not need to edit the video file. Follow how to create an interactive video for the steps.

Can one video be more than one type?

Yes. A product demo can capture a lead, branch on the buyer's role, and end with a personalized next step. Give it one main goal so the viewer knows what to do.

Do viewers need an account or an app?

No. Viewers open a share link or an embedded video in a browser on a phone, tablet, or computer. You can still ask for their details with lead capture or limit access with a password.