A great AI interview is not just a list of questions. The AI Moderator runs your guide as written and probes within it, so the care you put into the setup is what decides the quality of your data. These habits consistently produce richer, more comparable answers.
Start with a sharp brief
The AI drafts your study from the brief you write, so be specific. Name the audience, the topic, and the decision the research should inform. A vague brief gives you vague questions. A precise one gives you a strong first draft worth refining.
Ask open questions that invite stories
Open questions are where depth comes from. Ask people to walk you through a real experience rather than answer yes or no. Walk me through the last time you switched tools opens a conversation. Do you use this tool closes one.
Tune how hard the AI probes
Set the follow up count per question. More follow ups dig deeper but lengthen the interview, so give your most important questions room to breathe and keep lighter ones short.
Use Guidelines for follow ups to aim the AI. Tell it what to chase, for example how a decision was made, who was involved, or what the outcome was. Specific guidance is what moves the AI from a surface answer to the real reason behind it.
Structure for flow
Group related questions into sections, one theme per section, so the conversation builds naturally. Open broad, then narrow.
Sharpen your Screener
Your Screener decides who you talk to, and that shapes the quality of every answer. The tighter your qualifying criteria, the more your interviews come from people who actually have the experience you are researching.
Set the tone with your welcome and closing
Use the welcome to put people at ease, say what the study is about in a sentence, and remind them there are no right or wrong answers. People who feel comfortable give more honest, more detailed answers. Close by thanking them and letting them know their submission will be reviewed.
Review everything before you launch
Once a study is live, your questions and follow up guidance are set, so the time to get it right is before you launch. Read back through the full guide: check that each question is clear and open, that your follow up guidance points the AI at what matters, and that your sections flow in a sensible order. Anything you learn from a finished study is still useful, so fold it into your next one.