Every AI learning persona needs an origin story

Anna is a social responsibility consultant who mentors students while they analyse a company in crisis. She is a fictional character we created and brought to life with the help of AI (artificial intelligence).

Learning experiences built around conversations with AI-powered “personas” have gained popularity over the past year. These virtual characters simulate realistic human behaviour, integrating contextual awareness and role-specific reasoning to respond dynamically to learners’ actions, allowing them to practise complex skills through dialogue. By adopting roles such as mentors, debate opponents or decision-making partners, they offer rich pedagogical potential. 

Yet, it is too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a simple prompt leads to a fully developed persona. Every character needs a backstory. Take Dungeons & Dragons, for example, whereby players create fictional personas using a “character sheet” that details their skills, traits and experiences. If you imagine yours as a skilled negotiator who is strategic, persuasive and calm under pressure, once the game begins and you step into negotiations, your character must make convincing arguments and remain true to the role turn after turn. In the same way, AI personas come to life when their behaviour reflects a well-crafted narrative design.

Origin story

When the story comes first, the character’s actions become intentional and their interactions feel more authentic. Before Anna existed, we sketched the world she would live in: a company in crisis that students could step into. This narrative became the foundation for everything she would think, do and say. In her prompt, this meant weaving the organisational context, the central challenge and the ethical tensions into a coherent storyline that guided every interaction and kept each response aligned with the learning objectives.

Design reflections: What professional challenge does this story centre on? What tensions or dilemmas does it surface? How naturally does it lead students towards your learning objectives?

A persona is born

Once the story was in place, Anna’s character took form: a calm, precise and ethically grounded guide who could challenge students through thoughtful questions and reflective feedback. We began by developing a full profile that included her backstory, motivations and tone. These elements provided behavioural anchors and supported consistent and purposeful responses.

We tested the character through multiple interactions to reveal inconsistencies and guide refinement. The character became believable, allowing learners to suspend disbelief and engage authentically.

Design reflections: What values guide your persona’s behaviour? What tone fits this role best: supportive, critical, neutral? How does this character challenge students productively?

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• Bringing GenAI into the university classroom

Cue the students

Even before meeting Anna, learners stepped into the role of junior consultants responsible for developing shared-value proposals for a company in crisis. Through a first-person virtual reality (VR) experience, they observed the organisation’s dynamics and daily realities. This framing clarified their position within the narrative and distinguished their responsibilities from those of the AI persona. 

By the time they interacted with Anna, students understood how her guidance could help them refine their observations and strengthen their proposals. This process helped build confidence and deepened their understanding of shared value and social responsibility.

Design reflections: Do students clearly understand who they are in this story? What responsibilities do they carry? How does this role support skill development?

Risk management

Anna’s prompt included clear boundaries and expectations for safe interaction, which required the design team to test her behaviour in advance and establish constraints to reduce bias or overreach. With this foundation in place, we then guided students on how to engage responsibly with the persona. We briefed them to provide ample context, approach all advice critically and remain aware that AI can offer authoritative-sounding, yet inaccurate information. Also, we encouraged them to ask for clarification to ensure the conversation remained relevant. 

Protecting personal information was equally important, so we reminded students to share only what felt appropriate. Clear labelling and transparency ensured that they remained aware of the AI’s role to engage thoughtfully. 

Design reflections: What limitations does the AI persona have in this scenario? How can you guide students to think critically? What safeguards protect privacy and ethical boundaries?

To be continued... 

After interacting with Anna, we encouraged students to pause and reflect on their decisions. A structured debrief helped them examine the reasoning behind their decisions, identify moments when the AI persona challenged their thinking and consider how alternative actions might have led to different outcomes. By revisiting key moments and planning future actions, students consolidated learning and turned the AI interactions from simple conversations into catalysts for deeper understanding and professional growth.

Design reflections: What did students learn about themselves? How are mistakes reframed as learning opportunities? How will this experience shape future practice?

Creating impactful learning experiences begins with something far more fundamental than technology: empathy. Understanding learners’ needs, backgrounds and motivations allows educators to design activities that resonate deeply and create AI personas that become genuine learning partners. 

By starting with clear pedagogical intentions and translating them into real-world challenges, educators can design experiences that foster confidence and long-term skill development.

Lorena Quilantán García is a learning solutions design leader at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

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