Interview vs Discussion
These are the two interactive research methods in atypica.AI. Both run conversations with AI personas. They differ in setup and what you learn from them.
Interview Chat — one-on-one deep dive
Interview Chat runs a structured 1-on-1 conversation between the AI and a single persona. The AI follows professional interview methodology: opening and rapport, structured questioning across usage scenarios, pain points, existing solutions, expectations, and decision factors, then deep probing ("5 whys," scenario simulation, comparative inquiry).
A typical interview runs up to 7 rounds of dialogue, with each question kept concise. At the end, the AI saves a structured summary: interview summary, key findings, user profile, and memorable dialogue excerpts.
Use Interview when:
- You want to understand one persona's individual motivations, not group consensus.
- The topic is sensitive and a group setting would inhibit honest answers.
- You need depth on a specific case rather than breadth across many personas.
- You're trying to validate a hypothesis with one carefully-chosen persona.
Discussion Chat — group conversation
Discussion Chat runs a multi-persona conversation: focus group, roundtable, debate, or any format where personas respond to each other. You provide the core questions, background, and desired format, and the AI orchestrates 3–8 personas through the discussion.
A Discussion needs at least 2 personas from a panel. The system records the discussion for report generation.
Use Discussion when:
- You want to see how viewpoints collide — what one persona says changes how others respond.
- You're testing reactions to a concept, message, or product direction.
- You want to surface tradeoffs and disagreements, not individual depth.
- You're brainstorming or generating new ideas through group dynamics.
How to choose
| Want to learn… | Use |
|---|---|
| Why this persona thinks X | Interview |
| Whether personas agree or disagree on X | Discussion |
| How a sensitive topic plays out | Interview |
| Which of 3 concepts gets the strongest reaction | Discussion |
| A specific persona's decision-making process | Interview |
| Spontaneous ideas from group dynamics | Discussion |
If you're unsure, start with Discussion. It's faster and shows you where to probe deeper with Interview afterward.
What they have in common
- Both use AI personas from the library.
- Both produce content that flows into the final research report.
- Both can use uploaded attachments as additional context.
- Both record what was said for analysis later.
Limits
- Neither is a real human conversation. The AI personas simulate realistic responses, not actual opinions.
- Interview maxes out at 7 rounds — if you need more depth, run a second interview rather than asking the AI to extend one.
- Discussion needs at least 2 personas; you can't run a "group of one."
- Both inherit the tier of the personas you select. A discussion of Tier 1 personas will give more generic feedback than one of Tier 2.
When to combine
The most useful pattern is Scout → Discussion → Interview:
- Scout builds a set of personas from social observation.
- Discussion with a handful of those personas surfaces which questions matter most.
- Interview the most interesting personas one-on-one to go deep on what surfaced.
This gives you breadth from Scout, comparison from Discussion, and depth from Interview — without paying for depth on personas that turn out to be uninteresting.