Open the dashboard
Sign in at listen.land. Click New Interview in the top right of your dashboard.
Write your title and overview
The title is for your reference only — respondents never see it. It labels the interview in your dashboard.The overview is the most important field. It’s read by the AI as background context before every conversation begins. Describe your research goal and any important context about your respondents. The AI uses this to frame its questions, interpret answers, and decide what to probe on — even when respondents go off-script.
Add questions
Click Add Question to add each question you want the AI to cover. Questions are private to the AI — respondents never see a list. The AI weaves them naturally into the conversation rather than reading them aloud as a script.For each question, set a follow-up depth:
You can also mark individual questions as required. The AI won’t end the conversation until every required question has been substantively addressed.
| Depth | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Low | The AI asks the question and accepts the first answer, then moves on. Best for factual or demographic questions. |
| Medium | The AI probes once or twice if the answer is brief or surface-level. Good for general topics. |
| High | The AI digs deep with multiple follow-ups — exploring specifics, examples, frequency, and feeling. Best for the questions that matter most. |
Set the interview mode
Choose how respondents will interact with the AI:
- Voice (default) — Respondents speak aloud. Conversations are recorded and you get audio back alongside the transcript.
- Text — Respondents type their answers. Good for async or written feedback.
Configure access
Choose who can respond:
- Open — Anyone with the interview link can start a conversation. Best for public feedback, community research, and open surveys.
- Access Code — Respondents must enter a code before they can start. Best for private panels, paid research, or internal surveys. Set the code respondents will need to enter, or copy the auto-generated one.
Customize the AI persona (optional)
Two optional fields let you tune the AI’s behavior beyond the default:
- Persona instructions — Free-text instructions that steer the AI’s tone and style. For example: “Be warm and encouraging”, “Keep responses concise and direct”, or “Don’t accept abstract answers — always ask for a specific example.” The AI’s core structure (one question at a time, depth rules, ending logic) is platform-controlled; persona instructions only shape voice and emphasis.
- Language — The language the AI should respond in. Defaults to English. You can enter any language in natural terms, e.g.
French,polite Japanese, orBrazilian Portuguese. - Voice (voice mode only) — Choose from a range of AI voice options to match the tone of your research.
Publish the interview
When you’re ready to start collecting responses, toggle the interview status to Active. The interview link is now live and accepting conversations.You can pause the interview at any time to temporarily stop new conversations, or close it entirely when your research is complete.
Share your interview
Your interview is live — now get it in front of respondents. Learn how to share your link across email, Slack, surveys, and more.