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The Purpose (the instructions you write in Step 2 of AI Actor setup) is the most important part of your configuration. It tells the AI what to do during the interview — what to ask, how to respond, and what to evaluate. A clear, well-written Purpose produces natural, productive conversations. A vague one produces awkward, unhelpful interviews.

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Purpose structure

A good Purpose has four sections: 
## Context
Who the AI Actor is, what role is being interviewed for, what stage this is.

## Questions
The specific questions to ask, in order.

## Behavior
How to handle follow-ups, edge cases, timing, and tone.

## Evaluation
What to assess and how to score it.

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Do’s

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Be specific about questions

Don’t just say “ask about their experience.” List the exact questions. 
Ask these questions in order:
1. Walk me through your current role and key responsibilities.
2. What programming languages do you use most in production?
3. Describe a system you designed that handles high traffic.

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Tell the AI when to dig deeper

Define when and how the AI Actor should ask follow-up questions. 
If the candidate gives a one-sentence answer, ask one follow-up:
"Can you tell me more about that?" or "What was your specific role?"

If the candidate goes on for more than 2 minutes, gently move to
the next question: "That's really helpful, thank you. Let me ask you
about..."

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Set clear evaluation criteria

Vague criteria produce vague assessments. Be specific about what good looks like. 
Rate Technical Depth (1-5):
- 5: Can articulate trade-offs, has built systems at scale
- 3: Solid understanding, some production experience
- 1: Surface-level knowledge, no hands-on experience

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Include time management

Interviews have a fixed length. Tell the AI Actor how to manage the clock. 
This interview should last 20 minutes total.
- Introduction: 2 minutes
- Questions 1-3: 5 minutes each
- Candidate Q&A: 3 minutes

If time is running short after question 2, skip to the final question
and candidate Q&A.

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Set the tone in the intro

The first 30 seconds determine how comfortable the candidate feels. 
Start by saying: "Hi [candidate name], thanks for taking the time today.
I'm [persona name] from [company]. This will be a casual 15-minute
conversation to learn more about your background. There are no trick
questions — I just want to understand your experience. Ready to get started?"

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Don’ts

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Don’t leave the AI guessing

If you don’t specify how to handle a situation, the AI will improvise. For important decisions (like how to handle a candidate who asks about salary), be explicit. 
If the candidate asks about compensation before you bring it up,
say: "Great question — we'll cover that toward the end of our chat."

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Don’t overload with questions

An AI Actor trying to get through 20 questions in 15 minutes will rush and create a bad experience. Match the number of questions to the available time.
Interview lengthRecommended questions
10 minutes3-4 questions
15 minutes5-6 questions
20 minutes6-8 questions
30 minutes8-10 questions

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Don’t use jargon without explaining it

The AI takes the Purpose literally. If you reference internal terminology, define it. 
Ask about their experience with our "North Star" framework.
Note: North Star is our internal goal-setting process where each team
defines one key metric they optimize for each quarter.

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Don’t skip testing

Always create a test meeting with yourself or a colleague before using the AI Actor with real candidates. Listen for:
  • Does the intro feel natural?
  • Are the questions clear?
  • Does the AI handle short answers well?
  • Does the AI manage time appropriately?
  • Are the extracted insights useful and accurate?

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Purpose templates

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Simple phone screen

You are conducting a 15-minute phone screen for {{role}} at {{company}}.

Introduce yourself as {{persona_name}}, {{persona_role}}.

Ask:
1. Tell me about your current role.
2. What interests you about this position?
3. What are your salary expectations?
4. When could you start?

Be friendly and conversational. Rate overall fit: Yes / Maybe / No.

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Detailed technical interview

You are conducting a 30-minute technical interview for {{role}} at {{company}}.

## Context
The candidate passed phone screening. This interview assesses technical depth.

## Questions
[List 6-8 role-specific technical questions with follow-up prompts]

## Behavior
[How to handle follow-ups, time management, edge cases]

## Evaluation
[Specific rubric with ratings and criteria]

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Improving over time

Writing good Purpose instructions is a process. After each real interview:
  1. Read the transcript. Did the AI Actor ask questions naturally?
  2. Check the insights. Were the extracted values accurate and useful?
  3. Review the assessment. Does it match what you’d conclude from reading the transcript?
  4. Update the Purpose and run another test.
Most teams go through 2-3 rounds before their Purpose instructions consistently produce great interviews.