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Set Up Anna (AI Recruiter)

How to set up AI Recruiter for your job openings, from adding the stage to your workflow to configuring interview questions and qualifications.

Add AI Interview Stage to Your Workflow

  1. Navigate to your job opening's workflow in Fountain Hire

  2. From the Workflow Editor, click Add Stage, then select Create new stage

  3. From the Stage type dropdown, select AI Interview

  4. Enter a title for your stage, such as "Anna Interview" or "AI Interview"

  5. Use Stage Placement to position the stage in your workflow (typically after initial questions/data collection)

  6. Click Add Stage

Once added, you'll land on the stage configuration page where you can create or select an AI Interviewer.

Create an AI Interviewer

Once you've added the AI Interview stage, you'll see two options to get started:

Select an Existing AI Interviewer

If you've already created an AI Interviewer (Job Type) that you want to use:

  1. Click the Stage Option Type dropdown

  2. Select from your pre-existing AI Interviewers

  3. The selected interviewer will be attached to this stage

Create a New AI Interviewer

If you haven't created an AI Interviewer yet or want to create a new one:

  1. Click Manage Integration

  2. Click + Create job opening, then choose a creation method from the dropdown

  3. Choose your creation method:

    1. From a job description (create from scratch):

      1. Select this option to manually input a job description

      2. You'll build the AI Interviewer configuration from the ground up

    2. From a Fountain Position (recommended):

      1. Select this option to use information from an existing Position in Fountain

      2. Search for and select your position (e.g., "Tour Guide")

      3. Click Create AI Interviewer


    The system will automatically generate:

    1. Job description (pulled from the Position)

    2. Job qualifications (auto-generated based on the description)

    3. Interview questions (AI-suggested based on qualifications)
      ​

    You can then customize any of these elements within the interface.

Customize Your AI Interviewer

After creating your AI Interviewer, the system generates a complete interview configuration including job description, qualifications, and questions. You can now customize each section to match your specific needs.

The following sections are auto-generated when you create an AI Interviewer from a Fountain Position. Review and edit each section to ensure it aligns with your hiring requirements.

Configure Job Description

The job description is imported from Fountain or can be entered manually. It is not displayed to candidates — it's used internally by Anna to:

  • Generate qualifications

  • Inform interview questions

  • Guide Anna's conversation and follow-up questions

Best Practices

  • Use clear language - Use "must have" or "nice to have" to indicate requirement priority

  • Include important details - Add job, company, or role-specific context to guide Anna's interview focus

  • Be specific about desired answers - If you want candidates to provide specific examples (e.g., "Tell me about your ER experience"), include that context in the job description rather than in the question itself

  • Avoid keyword stuffing - Focus on clarity over trying to game the scoring system

DO NOT manually add pay rate - Pay rate is automatically pulled from the opening when the AI Interview stage is added to the workflow. Having different pay rates in the template and opening-specific configuration can cause inconsistent responses

Alignment with Qualifications

The job description and job qualifications should align. If something is important in the job description, candidates will be evaluated on it even if you remove it from job qualifications.

Configure Job Qualifications

Job qualifications heavily influence candidate scoring. Anna uses these to evaluate candidate responses.

How to Configure

  1. Review auto-generated qualifications from your job description

  2. Add, edit, or remove qualifications as needed

  3. Mark critical qualifications as "must have" by clicking the star icon next to the qualification

  4. Use descriptive language to indicate priority:

    • "Must have" = Higher scoring weight

    • "Nice to have" or "Preferred" = Lower scoring weight

CEFR English Proficiency

English proficiency (CEFR - Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is automatically assessed during the interview. If English proficiency is not relevant to the role or you feel candidates are being scored too harshly on this criterion, you can disable it in the configuration.

Configure Interview Questions

Anna will ask these questions during the interview. You can edit, add, or remove questions based on your needs.

Best Practices

  • Keep interviews around 5 minutes - Aim for approximately 7-8 questions to avoid candidate drop-off

  • Avoid Yes/No questions - These should be asked earlier in the workflow (e.g., in a Data Collection stage). Use the AI interview to gather context and depth

  • Use open-ended questions - Allow candidates to provide detailed responses (e.g., "Tell me about your schedule flexibility" vs "Can you work weekends?")

  • Avoid giving away answers in questions - Don't include specific details in the question that prompt the expected answer (e.g., instead of "Can you tell me about your approach to emotional therapy such as using CBT and DBT techniques?" ask "Can you tell me about your approach to emotional therapy?"). Add what you want Anna to listen for in the job description, not in the question itself

  • AI Recruiter works well for technical/skill-based questions - Anna works well for technical and skill-based questions

Follow-up Questions

By default, Anna asks follow-up or probing questions when candidates give short or incomplete answers (mimicking human interviewer behavior). If you want Anna to ask only your specified questions without any follow-ups, add this to your "AI interviewer instructions": 

"IMPORTANT: ONLY ASK THE SPECIFIED QUESTIONS AND DO NOT ASK ANY CLARIFYING OR FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS"

Note: Disabling follow-up questions may result in less comprehensive candidate information, but can help keep interviews shorter.

Additional Configuration Settings

Data Extraction Fields (Optional)

Data extraction fields allow you to extract structured data from candidate interviews for reporting and automation.

To configure:

  1. Click data extraction settings link in the Configuration tab

  2. Click + Create field to add a new data extraction field

  3. Define the field name, field key, and type

  4. These fields can be reused across multiple jobs

Examples: "Years of experience," "Preferred shift," "Certifications held"

NOTE: Once created, structured data can be used for reporting and workflow automation.

AI Interviewer Instructions (Optional)

Provide AI interviewer instructions for Anna to follow during the interview.

Instructions guide Anna's behavior and style, while certain opening details (location, pay, hours) are supplied automatically from the opening and are used to answer candidate questions — so Instructions may not fully suppress them.

Example instructions:

  • "At the end of the interview, inform the candidate that they'll hear from the team within 5 days"

  • "IMPORTANT: ONLY ASK THE SPECIFIED QUESTIONS AND DO NOT ASK ANY CLARIFYING OR FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS" (to disable follow-up questions)

  • Deterrence language: "The use of AI voice assistants or other outside tools during this interview may result in additional review."

Enable resume collection before interviews:

Choose whether candidates upload a resume as part of their interview, and when.

Options

  • None (default) — no resume is requested.

  • Before the interview — the candidate uploads before starting. Interview questions are automatically personalized to the candidate's background.

  • After the interview — the candidate uploads once the interview is finished. The resume is on file, but it does not affect the questions Anna asks.

How it works

  • Candidates upload their resume when taking their interview, if it has not already been provided.

  • Personalization only happens when the resume is collected before the interview.

  • Anna's score is based on the interview conversation and configured qualifications, not on resume ranking.

Collect Resumes Before For Better Questions

If your goal is a more tailored interview, choose Before the interview. Choosing After the interview gives you the document without changing the conversation.

Interview Language

Set the language Anna speaks during the interview, and the voice she uses.

  • Interview language — the language Anna conducts the interview in. Your interview questions do not need to be written in this language.

  • Voice — the accent and voice Anna uses, for example American accent (female).

If the language you need is not available, reach out to support to request access to additional languages.

Translation capability

If the interview is conducted in a language other than English, the transcript can be translated for reviewers.

Best practice for roles requiring English

Add a CEFR English level qualification to the interview configuration rather than building a multi-language workaround. This assesses English proficiency directly and keeps the requirement visible in the qualification results.

Anti-Fraud and Cheating Options

Fullscreen Mode

  • Checkbox: "Force the interview to be conducted in a full-screen browser window to help prevent possible cheating"

  • Candidates that exit fullscreen mode will be flagged

  • Not supported on mobile devices

Record Video

  • Checkbox: "Record video during the interview"

  • Requires desktop and webcam access

  • Candidates will be required to provide webcam access and conduct their interview on a desktop computer

Un-natural Pauses Detection

  • Flags candidates with "Possible cheating risks" when they take too long to answer

  • Trigger: 3 or more pauses of 5 seconds or more during the interview

  • This feature is opt-in and must be enabled by Fountain support for your account

AI Assistant Detection:

Currently, there is no technical way to detect or prevent use of AI voice assistants (Siri, ChatGPT Voice). You can use deterrence language in your AI Interviewer Instructions:

"The use of AI voice assistants or other outside tools during this interview may result in additional review."

Logo and Background Color

Customize the visual appearance of the interview interface to match your brand:

  • Add a logo and background color in organization settings

  • These settings apply across all AI Interviewers in your organization

Redirect URL (Optional)

Specify a URL where candidates will be redirected after completing their interview.

Example use cases:

  • Redirect to your careers page

  • Redirect to a thank you page

  • Redirect to additional application steps

Field: Enter the full URL (e.g., "https://example.com")

Welcome and Outro Message

Customize the messages candidates see at the beginning and end of their interview:

  • Add messages in organization settings (applies to all interviewers)

  • OR customize the message for this job opening (applies only to this specific opening)

Welcome message: Custom greeting shown to candidates before they start (up to 800 characters)
​Outro message: Custom message shown after candidates complete their interview (up to 800 characters)

Job Opening Details

These fields are automatically pulled from the opening in Fountain Hire when you create a Job Opening:

Location

  • Example: "Folsom: 411 Stafford St, Folsom, CA 95630, USA"

  • Used to provide location-specific context during interviews

Pay

  • Example: "e.g. $18 per hour or $80,000 - $100,000 per year"

  • Anna can reference pay information when candidates ask

Hours

  • Example: "e.g. Full-time, 40 hours per week"

  • Helps Anna answer questions about schedule and availability

NOTE: Do not manually add pay rate to your job description - it's automatically pulled from the opening. Having different pay rates in the job description and opening configuration can cause inconsistent responses.

Pre-Interview Form (Optional)

Collect additional information from candidates before they begin their interview.

How to use:

  1. Create forms in settings (link provided)

  2. Select a form from this dropdown

  3. Candidates will complete the form before starting their AI interview

Restrict Interview Link Access (Not Recommended)

Checkbox: "Only allow pre-registered candidates to interview (not recommended)"

When enabled:

  • You'll need to upload candidates in advance

  • Unrecognized candidates will be prevented from interviewing

Note: This is not recommended for most use cases as it creates friction in the candidate experience.

Messaging Automation

Configure automated messages sent at key stages of the interview process.

Advancement message:

  • Select a message template to send when candidates are advanced to the next stage

Rejection message:

  • Select a message template to send when candidates are rejected

How to configure: Manage your message templates in settings (link provided in the interface)

Notifications

Configure who receives notifications when interviews are completed.

Email notifications:

  • Send to all teammates in your organization - All team members receive notifications

  • Send to Job Opening owners - Only opening owners are notified (default)

  • Send only to recipients specified below - Send to specific email addresses

Additional recipients: Add specific teammates or distribution lists that should receive email digests as interviews are completed.

Slack integration:

  • Enable Send Slack notifications when interviews are completed

  • Choose a Target Slack channel

  • Each completed interview posts an interview summary and a link to the full transcript to that channel

Slack Channels Widen Who Sees Interviews

Everyone in the target channel can read interview summaries and open full transcripts, whether or not they have access to the applicant profile. Choose a channel whose membership matches who should see candidate interview content.

Attach AI Interviewer to Workflow Stage

Once you've created an AI Interviewer (Job Type), attach it to your AI Interview stage:

  1. Go to your workflow editor

  2. Navigate to the AI Interview stage

  3. In the Stage Option Type dropdown, select your desired AI Interviewer

  4. Click Save Changes

You can use the same AI Interviewer (Job Type) across multiple openings. When you do, Fountain automatically creates opening-specific versions (Job Openings) that pull in location, pay, and hours from each specific opening.

Refresh If Your Interviewer Is Missing

If a newly created AI Interviewer does not appear in the Stage Option Type dropdown, click the refresh icon beside the dropdown to pull the current list.

Edits To A Job Type Affect Every Opening

A Job Type holds the job description, qualifications, and interview questions. Every opening using that Job Type shares them. If you change a question for one location, you change it for all of them. Create a separate Job Type when a role genuinely needs different questions.

Configure Stage Portal Instructions

Provide clear instructions to candidates on the AI Interview stage. Best practices:

Key Elements to Include:

  • Disclosure that the interview will be conducted by Anna, an AI interviewing agent

  • Expected interview duration (approximately 5 minutes)

  • Instructions for accessing the interview (click link or dial number)

  • Reminder to find a quiet location

  • Reassurance that they can call back if disconnected

Demographic Questions for Audit Compliance

To meet regulatory audit requirements, Anna asks a random sample of candidates a short set of demographic (EEO) questions as part of their interview. This applies to a subset of candidates rather than everyone, is not configurable at the account level, and operates independently of any EEO questions you collect elsewhere in your workflow.

Test Before Launch

Run through the configuration before sending real candidates to Anna.

  1. Click Try this interview on the job opening to preview the interview. The preview runs as text, and responses are not saved.

  2. Review the candidate instructions on the AI Interview stage.

  3. Complete one live test interview end to end.

  4. Confirm the score appears on the applicant profile.

  5. Confirm the report link, transcript, and recording all open.

  6. Confirm your move rules route the test candidate to the expected review stage.

  7. Confirm notifications reach the right people.

  8. Confirm the alternate candidate path works, if you offer one.

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