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Using AI virtual coaching in Creator

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Introduction

AI virtual coaching is a Creator feature that helps learners practice real-world conversations in a simulated environment, featuring a virtual customer powered by synthetic voice technology.

This article explains how to add and use AI virtual coaching role plays in a Creator lesson, including how to write effective prompts and provide supporting details so the AI can generate useful, realistic interactions. 

There are two types of role play available: Sales role play, which focuses on practicing sales-related conversations with a virtual customer, and Custom role play, which allows you to design and configure your own scenarios for any type of conversation. 

Learn how to create and manage Creator lessons and how to use the Creator tool.

Requirements and limitations

Creating and managing an AI sales role play

To add an AI sales role play, from the desired screen of your Creator lesson, click on Insert, then select AI sales role play from the AI virtual coaching section. The AI role play card will appear on your screen. Click on the gear icon (Configure sales role play) to open the slide-out panel and configure your AI sales role play.

You can configure several sections. Let’s go through them one by one.

Scenario

Select one of the available options:

  • Understanding needs: The learner practices how to ask the right questions and uncover the customer’s goals and challenges
  • Addressing concerns: The learner responds to customer objections and builds trust through effective communication. For this scenario, you need to add at least one concern in the corresponding text field, but we suggest including two or three for the best results. Ensure each concern is specific, realistic, and clearly separated from the others. You can include different types of concerns to cover varied situations.
  • Offering solutions: The learner presents a product or service as a tailored solution, focusing on value and benefits for the customer.

As an option, you can add context to your scenario. Click on the Add button to add:

  • Customer knowledge: Describe what the customer already knows before the simulation begins. This may include information from previous conversations with the learner, such as having seen a demo or reviewed pricing. It helps the AI interpret the customer as being partially informed and adjust their responses accordingly.
  • Scenario details: Add contextual information that helps the AI align the customer’s responses with the scenario. This field is flexible and can include anything relevant to the situation—like company priorities, internal blockers, or specific product considerations the learner should be aware of.

Customer profile

In this section, you can select one of the predefined profiles, optionally edit it, or create a new customer profile from scratch. Click on the ellipsis icon in the desired profile’s row to edit or delete the profile, or click on New customer profile to create one. You will need to enter a customer name and description.  Press Save changes when you’re done.

Avatar character

Select one of the available characters or create a new one. Click on the ellipsis icon in the desired character’s row to edit or delete the character, or click on New avatar to create one. You can set a custom name, a role, and the personality of the character:

  • Approachable: Open to dialogue but resistant to change. This customer is friendly and collaborative, yet hesitant to shift from current solutions without strong justification.
  • Vague: Evasive and hard to pin down. This personality avoids commitment and gives unclear or indirect answers, requiring the learner to ask targeted, clarifying questions.
  • Skeptical: Questions assumptions and pushes back. This type of customer challenges the learner, raising objections or doubts that must be addressed with confidence and persuasive reasoning.

 Press Save changes when you’re done.

My company

In this section, you can use the predefined company or create your own company profile. Click on the ellipsis icon in the desired company’s row to edit or delete the company, or click on New company to create one. You will need to enter a company name and description. Press Save changes when you’re done.

Advanced settings

Press the Advanced button at the bottom of the panel to open an additional configuration window. Here you can define the following options:

  • Role play mode: select Voice if you want the learner to speak with the AI using their microphone, Chat if you prefer the conversation to happen via written text, or Learner’s choice if you want to let the learner choose their preferred mode. This setting is only available if your plan includes both voice and chat modes.
  • Time to complete: Set a time limit for the role play. This option is only available in voice mode and can range from 5 to 20 minutes.
  • Number of attempts: Define how many times the learner can attempt the role play.
  • Make role play mandatory: If you select this option, the learner cannot complete the Creator lesson without performing the role play.
  • Introduction card: Set the information shown to learners before the role play starts. Enter a title for the scenario; the description is automatically generated by AI once the role play is created.

Click on Save settings to apply your changes.

Once you have set up your AI sales role play, press the Save configuration button at the bottom of the panel. To see the learner experience, preview the Creator lesson.

Creating and managing an AI custom role play

To add an AI custom role play, from the desired screen of your Creator lesson, click on Insert, then select AI custom role play from the AI virtual coaching section. The AI role play card will appear on your screen. Click on the gear icon (Configure custom role play) to open the slideout panel and configure your AI role play.

You can configure several sections. Let’s go through them one by one.

Starting from a template

Before configuring a role play from scratch, you can also choose to begin from a predefined template. Press the Templates button at the bottom of the page to see a list of available role play templates. After selecting one, you can preview its content and decide whether to use it as it is or edit the fields to adapt the scenario to your needs as explained in the following sections.

Please note! If you select a template after configuring your AI custom role play, all previously entered information will be lost.

Scenario

In the Scenario section, you define the context for the role play. Provide a clear description of the situation, set the learner’s goal, and add any optional context that will help the AI avatar respond realistically.

Scenario description

Write a short description of the situation and how the conversation begins. Keep it to one or two sentences.

  • Good example: An HR manager schedules a meeting with an employee to provide feedback on recent performance.
  • Poor example: A corporate board meeting. (Too vague: no roles, no flow.)
  • Poor example: A project manager at a large company that has recently gone through reorganizations and budget cuts meets with a senior engineer about missed deadlines. The project manager is juggling stakeholder expectations and the engineer feels frustrated about shifting priorities. (Too long: overloaded with background, goals get buried.)

Goal to achieve

Define the main result that the learner should reach in this role play. Focus on what the learner must accomplish, not on what the avatar does.

  • Good example: The HR manager delivers constructive feedback, addresses concerns, and agrees on clear next steps.
  • Poor example: The employee listens carefully and accepts the manager’s suggestions. (Focuses on the avatar, not on the learner.)

Additional context

 This field is optional. Use it to add any extra background that can enrich the role play. Include details that don’t fit in the other fields but will help the AI generate more realistic answers.

  • Good example: The company has recently gone through a reorganization, creating uncertainty in the workplace.
  • Poor example: The office recently moved to a new building. (Not relevant to the role play and does not affect the conversation.)

Learner

In the Learner section, you define the role that the learner will play in the role play. This ensures the AI understands who the learner is and how to respond to them.

Learner role

Describe the learner’s role in the role play. Keep it short and role-focused, without adding background story.

  • Good example: HR manager giving feedback to an employee.
  • Poor example: Manager in a company. (Too generic.)

Avatar character

In the Avatar character section, you define who the AI avatar is, along with their background, motivation, and personality. This helps the AI generate realistic and consistent answers.

Avatar appearance

When configuring the avatar, you can also set its appearance. Use the Select avatar button to choose an image that represents the character in the role play. The avatar’s look does not affect the conversation flow, but it makes the experience more engaging for learners.

Avatar name

 Give the avatar a realistic name.

  • Example: Daniel

Avatar role

 Specify the avatar’s professional role or position in the scenario.

  • Good example: Employee.
  • Poor example: Employee receiving feedback from their manager. (Too descriptive.)

Avatar profile

 Describe the avatar’s background and motivation in this role play.

  • Good example: The employee is worried about their performance and hopes to understand how to improve.
  • Poor example: The employee works at a multinational company with 200,000 staff and complex reporting lines. (Irrelevant detail, not shaping the role play.)

Avatar personality

Choose one of the predefined options (Agreeable, Vague, Skeptical) or define a custom personality by combining 2–3 traits.

  • Good example: Open to feedback, but defensive when criticized too directly.
  • Poor example: Very kind, collaborative, skeptical, stressed, vague, friendly, approachable, nervous. (Too many traits, confusing.)

Advanced settings

To configure additional options, refer to the Advanced settings section of the AI sales role play configuration.

Once you have set up your AI role play, press the Save configuration button at the bottom of the panel. To see the learner experience, preview the Creator lesson.

AI-generated reports

At the end of each simulation, the AI generates a report based on the learner’s interaction. The report highlights key strengths, areas for improvement, and includes personalized suggestions to support skill development.

Here’s how it works in practice:

  • If the role play is in voice mode, the AI transcribes the learner’s spoken input in real time, processes the transcription, generates a response, and converts it to spoken output for the conversation to continue
  • If the role play is in chat mode, the interaction happens entirely via written text
  • At the end of the role play, the full transcript of the exchange—spoken or written—is analyzed by the AI. A series of prompts is then used to generate a structured report.

The report evaluates several aspects of the learner’s communication, including:

  • An overall feedback with strengths and areas for improvement
  • Tone of voice (intended as overall communication style inferred by the role play's transcript, whether spoken or written), with attention to:
    • Clarity – how clearly ideas are expressed
    • Confidence – how assured and professional the communication feels
    • Energy – the overall engagement and dynamism in the learner’s approach
  • Key quotes, where strong and weak moments in the learner’s performance are identified and highlighted.

The report is available immediately after the role play and can be accessed again at any time by the learner from the course player. Learners can review it as part of their self-reflection. At this stage, the report and the corresponding transcript or recording are visible only to the learner and are not shared with managers or administrators.

After reviewing their report, learners can provide feedback on their experience with the role play directly from the role play summary page. This feedback helps Docebo improve the AI role play feature. Please note that learner feedback is anonymous, is not shared with platform administrators, and is used internally by Docebo for product improvement purposes only.

Learn  more about the models used by AI role play.

Best practices

When creating an AI role play, keep these guidelines in mind to get the best results:

  • Keep inputs concise but complete: limit each field to 2–3 key points. Avoid long background stories that dilute the conversation.
  • Provide relevant context only: include details that influence the conversation. Leave out information that doesn’t affect the flow.
  • Choose the right persona:
    • Skeptical: to practice handling objections.
    • Agreeable: to practice collaboration.
    • Vague: to practice clarifying unclear input.
  • Remember the purpose: AI role play is designed to help measure learners’ conversational capabilities and provide actionable feedback for improvement, rather than generate final scripts.

Best practices for AI custom role play

  • Fill out all fields thoughtfully: Use each field for its intended purpose. Don’t put all details in the Scenario or Additional context fields. Don’t repeat or overload fields.
  • Keep context short: The Additional context field is optional and should not contain any information that belongs in the other fields. Use it only if you need to add extra details, and limit it to 1–2 short sentences.
  • Avoid contradictions: make sure the information in the various fields is consistent.
  • Reference roles consistently: always use the same role name for the learner and the avatar across all fields (for example, if the learner is “employee” in one field, don’t call them “UX designer” in another).
  • Limit custom personalities: when defining a custom personality, use only 2–3 traits. Long lists of adjectives confuse the AI and make the avatar inconsistent.