How AI roleplays work
An AI roleplay is a practice conversation by voice. The AI plays a customer, and you play your role at work. After the scene, the AI coaches you, and Arcade assesses the session.
The scenario and the AI character
Section titled “The scenario and the AI character”The AI instructions of the roleplay tell the AI who it is, what the situation is, and what it needs. A manager or an admin writes them in Manage, and can also set a Time limit.
If the instructions do not give the roles, the AI plays a customer and you play a retail sales representative. If there are no instructions, the AI asks your role and what customer conversation you want to practice.
A roleplay has three parts. The session screen can show their names:
- Set the scene: the AI greets you by your first name, and tells you the situation and the skill that you practice.
- Practice: the AI stays in its role and gives you objections. When you do well, the scene becomes more difficult. When you have problems, it becomes easier.
- Feedback: the AI stops the scene. It asks what went well, tells you what it saw, and corrects wrong facts. Then it repeats the moment where you can improve the most, and you try one more time.
The AI uses only the facts that your organization gave. If you say something that these facts do not cover, the AI accepts it.
The voice conversation
Section titled “The voice conversation”The AI usually speaks one to three sentences, then waits for you. The same voice plays the customer and the coach, so the AI tells you when it stops the scene.
The session starts in the language of the roleplay. To change the language, ask the AI, or speak in the new language. The AI then starts the current step again in that language.
When you pause the session, Arcade stops the recording and the timer.
How long a session lasts and how it ends
Section titled “How long a session lasts and how it ends”At the time limit, the AI closes the conversation in its next answer. If the session is still open 1 minute after the limit, Arcade ends it. When a roleplay has no time limit, the AI usually plans for about 10 minutes.
| How the session ends | What happens | What managers see |
|---|---|---|
| The AI completes the feedback. | The AI says “Roleplay complete.” Arcade turns off your microphone. It closes the session 15 seconds after the AI stops. | Completed |
| You stop. | You select End session now before the AI completes the feedback. | Stopped early |
| You do not speak. | After about 30 seconds of silence, the AI asks if you are there. After about 1 minute, it ends the session. | Ended — no response |
| The connection stops. | Arcade keeps the conversation that it saved. | Ended early |
In each case, Arcade assesses the work that you did, if the session is not too short.
What Arcade records and who can see it
Section titled “What Arcade records and who can see it”Arcade keeps:
- The recording: one audio file with your voice and the voice of the AI.
- The transcript: the words that you and the AI said.
- The length of the session, the language, and how the session ended.
| Who | What they can see |
|---|---|
| You | The transcript during the session, and your feedback after it. |
| Team Managers and higher roles | The assessment, the recording, and the transcript. They can correct the assessment and share a link to the session. |
| Other people in your organization | Only a session that a manager shared with a link. They must sign in to your organization. |
What you get after the session
Section titled “What you get after the session”The full assessment shows on the Feedback tab of Train a few minutes after the session. The AI grades four criteria from 1 to 4. Refer to How AI scoring works.
Arcade approves the session only when all of these conditions are true:
- The session ran to its end, or it stopped in the last words of the feedback.
- Your Effort and Realism score is more than 1.
- Your total score is more than 5 of 16.
Good to know
Section titled “Good to know”- A session shorter than 20 seconds, or with fewer than 20 words from you, is too short. Arcade does not assess it, and it uses no AI credits.
- The assessment reads the transcript, not the recording. Background noise, for example a TV, can show as words in the transcript. Practice in a quiet place.
- Save & exit pauses the session for up to 24 hours. It is available only after 30 seconds and after you speak.
- Your organization can set a monthly limit on the minutes of AI practice. At the limit, Arcade does not start a new session.