Interview AI-ssistant: Designing for Real-Time Human-AI Collaboration in Interview Preparation and Execution

Abstract

Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) offer unprecedented opportunities to enhance human-AI collaboration in qualitative research methods, including interviews. While interviews are highly valued for gathering deep, contextualized insights, interviewers often face significant cognitive challenges, such as real-time information processing, question adaptation, and rapport maintenance. My doctoral research introduces Interview AI-ssistant, a system designed for real-time interviewer-AI collaboration during both the preparation and execution phases. Through four interconnected studies, this research investigates the design of effective human-AI collaboration in interviewing contexts, beginning with a formative study of interviewers' needs, followed by a prototype development study focused on AI-assisted interview preparation, an experimental evaluation of real-time AI assistance during interviews, and a field study deploying the system in a real-world research setting. Beyond informing practical implementations of intelligent interview support systems, this work contributes to the Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI) community by advancing the understanding of human-AI collaborative interfaces in complex social tasks and establishing design guidelines for AI-enhanced qualitative research tools.