> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ailyze.gitbook.io/ailyze-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ailyze.gitbook.io/ailyze-docs/collect-research-data/create-an-ai-avatar-interviewer.md).
# Create an AI Avatar Interviewer
This page shows you how to set up an AI avatar that interviews your participants over video. You design the interview once, share a link, and Evidano collects everyone's survey answers, video recordings, and [transcripts](/ailyze-docs/reference/glossary.md#transcript) for you.
{% hint style="info" %}
**What you need:** An Evidano account, your survey and interview questions, and enough wallet balance to go live (interviews are a paid add-on).
**What you will have at the end:** A public interview link to share, plus survey answers, video recordings, and transcripts collected in one dashboard.
{% endhint %}
## How it works
Each participant opens your public interview link and goes through two parts:
1. A short survey you design, then
2. A live video conversation with an AI avatar that asks your questions and probes for more detail.
You also choose an **interview flow**:
* **"Simple flow"** — every participant gets the same interview questions.
* **"Survey Driven Branching"** — the interview questions change based on a survey answer (for example, ask buyers and non-buyers different things).
## Step 1: Build your interview
From your account page, click **"Create AI Avatar Interviewer + Survey"**. Pick **"Create New"** to start from a blank form, or **"Duplicate Existing"** to copy a past project. This opens the **New AI Avatar Interviewer** builder.
The builder walks you through three progress steps: **"Project Setup"** → **"Design Survey"** → **"Interview Script"**.
### "Project Setup"
Name your project, set up your public link, and pick the on-screen interviewer.
| Field | What it does |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **"Project Name"** | An internal name for your project (participants don't see it). |
| **"Custom URL Slug"** | The ending of your public interview link. Pick a short, memorable word; Evidano checks that it's available as you type. |
| **"Supported Languages"** | The language or languages participants can use. |
| **"Select Ai Avatar"** | The on-screen interviewer. Filter by quality, gender, and style. |
| Voice and accent | Preview and choose how the avatar sounds. |
### "Design Survey"
Build the pre-interview survey with the drag-and-drop survey editor. Supported question types include single choice, multiple choice, dropdown, rating, text (email, number, date, and more), and yes/no — with skip logic (later questions that appear based on earlier answers) and "other" options.
Two tabs help you build faster:
* **"Survey Editor & AI Chat"** — describe the survey you want in the AI Chat panel and it generates the questions; refine them by hand.
* **"Paste Survey & Let AI Format"** — paste rough questions as text and let Evidano format them.
Use **"Auto-translate to …"** to localize the survey into another language.
### "Interview Script"
Define what the avatar says and asks. Two tabs let you enter the script: **"Add Manually"** or **"Paste & Format with AI"** (paste a rough guide and it structures the script for you).
* **Introduction** — the opening message (end it with *"Shall we start?"* to prompt a reply).
* **Interview Questions** — add each question and drag to reorder. Open a question's settings to add **follow-up questions** for deeper probing.
* **Conclusion** — the closing message (end it with *"You may close the page."*).
Optional settings let you fine-tune the interview:
* **Max Interview Duration Limit** (recommended 15–60 minutes; up to 120).
* **Objective** — the interview's purpose.
* **Maximum number of responses** — cap how much data you collect (blank means unlimited).
* **Moderator behavior** presets, each with an editable prompt:
* **Probing Depth:** Light / Standard / Deep / Exhaustive
* **Tone:** Professional / Friendly / Empathetic / Casual / Formal
* **Language Complexity:** Simple / Standard / Advanced / Domain Expert
* **Answer Validation:** None / Brief Acknowledgment / Reflective Summary / Confirm and Expand
* **Additional Instructions** — free-form guidance (for example, *"If the respondent seems uncomfortable, offer to skip the question."*).
If you chose **"Survey Driven Branching"**, you'll also bind interview questions to survey answers:
1. Pick a branchable survey question (single choice, multiple choice, dropdown, or yes/no).
2. For each answer choice (or bundle of choices), set up a branch with its own introduction, questions, and conclusion. You can re-use a guide from another branch to save time.
## Step 2: Publish your interview
Click **"Create Project"** to save. You land on your interview's dashboard.
New interviews start in **"Test (free)"** — responses are recorded but not charged, so try the full participant experience yourself first. To collect real data, set the **Status**:
| Status | Meaning |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **"Test (free)"** | Recorded but not charged — for your own testing. |
| **"Active"** | Live and collecting; charged per interview. |
| **"Pause"** | Temporarily stops accepting responses. |
{% hint style="info" %}
**Costs credits:** Live interviews are a paid add-on drawn from your wallet, and you'll need enough balance before you can go **"Active"**. You'll see the cost and confirm it first. See [Plans, Limits & Credits](/ailyze-docs/reference/plans-limits-and-credits.md).
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="warning" %}
Always include clear consent wording in your survey and invitation, and follow the privacy laws that apply to you when recording participants.
{% endhint %}
## Step 3: Share and recruit participants
Your dashboard gives you everything you need to invite people:
* Your public interview link, ready to copy and share.
* A ready-made invitation message with your link already inserted — copy it or send it by email.
* If you invite by email, Evidano tracks who was invited and who has completed the interview.
### What participants experience
When someone opens your link, they:
1. Grant microphone and camera permissions (with an audio-only fallback if their connection is slow).
2. Complete your survey.
3. Talk with the AI avatar, which runs your script, probes based on your moderator settings, and wraps up.
The session is recorded. If a participant hits a problem, they're shown a participant ID they can share with you.
## Step 4: Monitor your responses
The dashboard's **Responses** section (test responses are excluded) shows:
* **Survey Responses** and **Interview Responses** counts, each with a download option.
* A chart of responses per day.
* A responses table you can view by survey answers, by interview, or combined per participant — with the interview recording and transcript for each person.
* Charts that visualize your survey data.
You can also rename, edit, or delete the interview from here.
## Step 5: Analyze what you collected
The interview dashboard collects your data; Evidano's analysis workflows turn it into findings:
* For survey data, click **"Use AI to Analyze Survey Data"** to open spreadsheet analysis. See [Analyze open-ended survey responses](/ailyze-docs/common-research-workflows/analyze-open-ended-survey-responses.md).
* For the interviews, use **"Download Transcripts"**, then feed them into document analysis. See [Analyze interview transcripts](/ailyze-docs/common-research-workflows/analyze-interview-transcripts.md).
* If any audio was weak, you can re-process it first with [Transcribe Audio & Video](/ailyze-docs/prepare-research-data/transcribe-audio-and-video.md).
## A realistic example
> **Scenario:** You need 100 user interviews about a new onboarding flow. Build a 4-question survey (role, plan, prior experience, consent) and a 6-question interview with follow-ups. Set **Probing Depth: Deep** and **Tone: Friendly**, cap responses at 100, and fund your wallet. Switch the Status to **"Active"**, email the link to your list, and watch transcripts arrive. A week later, analyze all 100 interviews at once to find the common themes.
## Next steps
* [Create a Survey](/ailyze-docs/collect-research-data/create-a-survey.md) — a standalone survey with no interview attached.
* [Analyze interview transcripts](/ailyze-docs/common-research-workflows/analyze-interview-transcripts.md)
* [AI Avatar Interviewer issues](/ailyze-docs/troubleshooting/ai-interviewer-issues.md)
* [Plans, Limits & Credits](/ailyze-docs/reference/plans-limits-and-credits.md)
---
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