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Session Outcomes

Every session in recapt is automatically classified with an outcome label. These labels tell you whether users accomplished their goals and how smooth the experience was.

Outcome Categories​

Recapt classifies sessions into six outcome categories:

Completed​

The user accomplished their task with minimal friction.

Characteristics:

  • Clear goal was achieved (purchase, signup, form submission)
  • Low frustration and confusion scores
  • Direct path through the flow
  • No significant backtracking or errors

What it means: Your UX is working well for these users. Study these sessions to understand what success looks like.

Struggled​

The user completed their task, but encountered significant friction along the way.

Characteristics:

  • Goal was eventually achieved
  • Elevated frustration or confusion scores
  • Some backtracking, hesitation, or repeated attempts
  • May have encountered errors but recovered

What it means: These users succeeded despite problems. Investigate what caused the friction. Fixing it could improve conversion for users who give up.

Blocked​

The user couldn't complete their intended task.

Characteristics:

  • Clear intent to accomplish something
  • High frustration scores
  • Repeated failed attempts
  • Session ended without goal completion

What it means: Something prevented the user from succeeding. These sessions are high priority for investigation. They represent lost conversions or failed experiences.

Exploring​

The user was browsing without a clear task in mind.

Characteristics:

  • No specific goal detected
  • Browsing multiple pages or sections
  • Low urgency in interactions
  • May or may not return later with intent

What it means: Not every session has a goal. Exploring sessions are normal, especially for new visitors learning about your product.

Disengaged​

The user left without meaningful interaction.

Characteristics:

  • Very short session duration
  • Minimal interaction (few clicks, little scrolling)
  • Quick exit without exploring
  • No clear intent detected

What it means: The user didn't find what they expected or wasn't interested. High disengagement rates on landing pages may indicate messaging or targeting issues.

Error​

The user encountered a technical failure.

Characteristics:

  • JavaScript errors or console errors detected
  • Page crashes or failed loads
  • Broken functionality
  • Often accompanied by high frustration

What it means: Technical issues blocked the experience. These need immediate attention from your development team.

How Outcomes Are Determined​

Session outcomes are classified automatically based on a combination of:

  • Behavioral signals: Frustration, confusion, and confidence patterns
  • Interaction patterns: What the user clicked, where they navigated
  • Session context: Page types visited, time spent, exit point
  • Goal completion: Whether key actions (conversions, signups, etc.) occurred

The classification happens in real-time as the session progresses and is finalized when the session ends.

Using Outcomes Effectively​

Filtering Sessions​

Use outcome filters to focus your session review:

  • Blocked sessions: Highest priority for UX fixes
  • Struggled sessions: Opportunities to reduce friction
  • Error sessions: Technical issues to resolve

Understanding Conversion​

Compare outcome distributions across different user segments:

  • New vs. returning users
  • Different traffic sources
  • Before and after changes

A healthy site should have mostly Completed and Exploring sessions, with few Blocked or Error sessions.

Tracking Improvements​

Monitor outcome distributions over time:

  • Decreasing Blocked sessions after a fix? The fix worked.
  • Increasing Struggled sessions after a redesign? Something got harder.
  • Rising Error sessions? Check for new bugs.

Outcomes vs. Scores​

Outcomes and behavioral scores work together:

  • Scores are continuous (0-1) and measure intensity
  • Outcomes are categorical and summarize the session result

A session might have moderate frustration (0.4) but still be Completed. The user hit some friction but succeeded. Another session might have lower frustration (0.3) but be Blocked. The user gave up before getting frustrated.

Use scores to understand the experience quality. Use outcomes to understand the result.