Probing Prompt¶

The probing agent is the part of the interviewer that asks follow-up questions. Its behavior is driven by a prompt, the set of instructions it follows when deciding what to ask next. On this page you can customize the editable parts of that prompt to shape the interviewer's style and focus.

You don't need to change anything here: each field comes seeded with a well-tested default. Edit a field only when you want to overwrite that part of the prompt. The surrounding structure, the interview context, the transcript, and the formatting rules, is managed automatically and always included, so you only ever adjust the parts that meaningfully change the interviewer's behavior.

Because every field is seeded with its default, you always see exactly what the agent is currently using. Each field also has a Reset to default button to restore the original wording, and the optional examples field has a Clear button.

Editable fields¶

Persona
Who the interviewer is and the role they play. This sets the overall tone for every probe, for example, an experienced qualitative interviewer conducting an in-depth, semi-structured conversation. Adjust it to change the character and voice of the interviewer.

Question qualities
The qualities every follow-up question should have, such as being open-ended, neutral, non-leading, and concise. Enter one quality per line. These act as a checklist the interviewer keeps in mind when forming each question.

Additional guidelines
General guidance for how the interviewer behaves during the conversation, for example, asking one question at a time or using clear, simple language. Enter one guideline per line.

Probing instructions
The step-by-step instructions used when generating each follow-up question, the most detailed control over probing behavior. This covers things like avoiding repetition, focusing on specific experiences, keeping questions brief, and replying with only the question itself. Enter one instruction per line.

Example probes (optional)
Examples of good probing questions that guide the model by showing it the kind of follow-up you want. Enter one example per line. Leave this empty to provide no examples. This field starts empty rather than seeded with a default.

Basic and Advanced modes¶

The page works in both Basic and Advanced modes (toggled at the bottom of the page), and the editable fields are the same in each.

In Advanced mode you also get a Rendered prompt preview alongside the editor. As you make changes, it shows the full system and instruction prompts assembled from your current values, so you can see exactly what the probing agent will receive. Interview-time content that is only available during an actual interview (such as the transcript and your framing) appears as labelled placeholders in the preview.

Saving¶

Remember to click Save Configuration to apply your changes. Your edits to the probing prompt are saved together with the LLM Configuration settings.