How it works
Four steps, about a minute of setup for you, and a conversation for them.
1. Choose who to interview
Start at the interview page and tell us who you're interviewing and what to call them. The AI uses that name when it talks to them, so it sounds like a conversation rather than a form. You can also add a note about their accent, which helps with transcription. This takes about a minute and you need an email address to sign in, so you can find your interview later.
2. Pick topics, or leave it open
Choose what you most want to hear about: childhood, work, love and marriage, raising a family, hard times, advice. These point the first questions in the right direction. You can also skip this and let the conversation find its own way. Either way the AI follows what they say, so a question about a first job can turn into a story about a brother.
3. Let the AI interview them
Send them the link, or sit down together with your phone. They agree to be recorded, then they see one question in large type and one big button. They press it, talk for as long as they like and press it again. The AI picks a detail from that answer and asks about it. They can stop at any time and come back later.
4. Get the story and the recording
When they finish, you can listen to every answer in their own voice. The AI then writes up what they said as chapters, in the first or third person, at the length you choose. It may only use facts that appear in the conversation, and every draft is checked for anything added. You can edit the text, download a PDF and an mp3, and share a private link.
What the AI follows up on
The AI asks one question at a time and looks for something specific in the last answer: a name, a place, a time. It never asks a yes-or-no question and it doesn't comment on what was said. Here are the kinds of follow-up it is built to ask.
It picks up the place, not the year.
They said: "We moved to Dayton when I was nine, into the place above the bakery."
It asks: What did the place above the bakery smell like in the morning?
A name is a thread worth pulling.
They said: "My brother Walt took the blame for that one."
It asks: What did Walt get in trouble for, and who caught him?
A big event becomes a single moment.
They said: "That was the winter the plant closed."
It asks: Where were you when you heard the plant was closing?
These are illustrations of how it works, not quotes from a real family. If someone says they'd rather not talk about something, it drops the subject, moves on, and keeps that answer out of the story. Every few questions it asks something easy, like what the weather was that day, so the pace stays comfortable.
What your parent needs to do
- Tap the link you sent them.
- Agree to be recorded, and allow the microphone.
- Press the button and talk.
That's all. There is no app and no password, and there are no countdown timers. Nothing plays until they press the button. Then the AI talks with them and shows each question in large type. If a phone is a struggle, sit with them and use yours.
In that mode you see the controls, and they only have to talk to you.
How long it takes, and who can hear it
The free interview runs for up to ten minutes of talking. A paid story covers up to an hour, which can be split over as many sittings as they like. The story is usually ready within a few minutes of the interview finishing.
Recordings are private to your account. The person being recorded sees who will hear them before they agree, and they can take back any answer or delete everything at any time. Read the recording consent and the privacy policy, or see pricing.