Pick the format that fits your brand. The questions, scoring, and rigor stay the same either way.
When you add a conversational AI video interview to an assessment, you choose how the AI side appears to the candidate: an animation or a persona. This article walks through what each format looks like, how to think about the choice for your role, and what to know before you save.
Approx. read time: 5 minutes
In this article
- What you'll see in the modal
- Animation
- Persona
- How to choose
- What stays the same
- What to know before you save
- FAQ
What you'll see in the modal
When you add a conversational AI video interview to your assessment, a format-selection modal opens before the interview is created. Both formats sit side by side. Neither is pre-selected. Until you pick one, the interview is not saved and the candidate cannot start.
The modal applies the same way to library AI interviews and custom AI interviews. The choice you make here is what the candidate sees during the interview.
Animation
Pick animation for an audio-only experience. The candidate sees a round, animated orb on the AI side of the screen. The orb pulses and shifts as the AI speaks, so the candidate has a clear visual cue for who is talking and when to respond. The candidate's own video stays on screen the whole time.
There is no humanoid face, no body language, no facial expression on the AI side. The candidate hears the AI's voice and sees the orb.
Persona
Pick persona for a humanoid presence on the AI side. The candidate sees a person on screen who speaks the questions, mirrors natural conversational rhythms, and reacts visually as the candidate answers.
You can't pick a specific persona. TestGorilla assigns one from a small pool for each interview. The pool covers a range of appearances and voices. The persona is the same throughout a single candidate's interview, but two candidates taking the same interview may see different personas.
How to choose
The format choice is a recruiter-side judgment call. A few angles worth thinking through:
Brand fit. Does an animated orb feel right for your employer brand, or does a humanoid presence land better?
Role context. For roles where the candidate is judged on how they handle face-to-face interaction, a persona may feel closer to the real job. For technical or async-heavy roles, an audio-only orb keeps the focus on the answer.
Candidate experience. Some candidates find a humanoid AI more engaging. Others find audio-only less performative and easier to focus in. Your audience will have its own preferences.
What stays the same
Whichever format you pick, the rest of the interview is identical:
The same questions, in the same order.
The same AI scoring, on the same rubrics.
The same 0-5 scale and the same recruiter override controls.
The same scientific approach behind the evaluation.
Tone, fluency, and appearance are not analyzed. The format does not change how candidates are scored.
What to know before you save
The format choice is set when you add an interview interview to an assessment. If you wish to change the format, please remove the interview and add it to the assessment once again.
If you want to test both formats with a small group before rolling out, save two versions of the same assessment, one with animation and one with persona, and assign each to a different cohort. You can compare candidate response and your own review experience side by side.
The format-selection modal applies to both library AI interviews and custom AI interviews. The flow is the same in both places.
FAQ
Will the format affect the candidate's score?
No. The questions, rubrics, scale, and override controls are identical across both formats. Only the look changes.
Can I pick a specific persona?
No. TestGorilla assigns a persona from a small pool for each interview. You can't choose which one the candidate sees.
Does the candidate know which format I picked?
The candidate sees whichever format you chose when they start. They are not told there was a choice or what the alternative would have looked like.
Does it cost the same?
Yes. Credits work the same way regardless of format.