The right interview, for every stage of hiring
From a 2-minute outreach ping to a fully custom 20-minute deep-dive — TalkScore adapts to your process, your roles, and your volume. Each format is built on a simple credit system designed for transparency and scale.
How the pricing model works
TalkScore uses a credit-based pricing model. Each AI interview consumes a set number of credits depending on the type and depth of evaluation. This makes pricing predictable and transparent — you only pay for completed assessments.
1 credit = $1 USD at standard pricing. Credits are purchased in advance and consumed as candidates complete their AI interviews. Volume discounts are available for larger commitments.
More comprehensive assessments — more soft skills, longer interviews, English proficiency scoring — consume more credits. Faster screenings and pre-call outreach consume fewer. Pick the format that matches the depth of evaluation each stage of your funnel actually needs.
Available Formats
Seven formats are available, ranging from a 2-minute phone touchpoint to a fully customizable 20-minute deep-dive. Each card below shows what's included, credit cost, and maximum duration.
All formats are available via web channel. Phone channel available on request — credits scale with call type.
How to read each format
Credits per call is the number of credits deducted from your balance when a candidate completes that assessment.
Max duration is the longest the AI conversation can run. Most interviews finish well below the cap — actual length depends on the candidate's responses.
Credits are only consumed on completed assessments. Technical failures or dropped calls that don't produce a report are not charged.
What's Included in Every Credit
Every completed TalkScore assessment — regardless of format — generates a full structured report that includes:
Overall performance score (0–5 scale) with an AI-written evaluation summary
Per-skill breakdown with AI-generated reasoning and direct evidence from the transcript
English proficiency level (CEFR A0–C2) with scores for grammar, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation, and comprehension — where the format includes language scoring
Behavioral insights — sentiment analysis, confidence, tone, and engagement tracking
Full transcript and audio recording of the conversation
Quality indicators — reading detection, agent quality flags
Data extraction — structured answers to screening and eligibility questions
There are no hidden fees. Reports, transcripts, recordings, and analytics are all included.
Choosing the Right Format
The most consequential design decision when setting up TalkScore isn't which skills to score — it's which format to score them in. The format determines interview length, question depth, skill coverage, and credit cost in a single choice, so it's worth getting right.
How to choose
Three questions answer it ninety percent of the time:
How much candidate time can you justify per role? A high-volume frontline role where you process thousands of candidates a month can't afford a 20-minute interview — completion rates will collapse and the strong candidates will drop. A low-volume specialized role can.
How rich does the per-skill evidence need to be? A scoring decision that only sorts the top quartile from the rest can run on three or four behavioral questions. A scoring decision that drives a final hire/no-hire call needs more.
Does language proficiency matter on its own? If yes, you need a format that includes CEFR scoring. If language is just a baseline check, you have more flexibility.
The format you choose should match the latest stage of your funnel where this assessment runs. Use Short Screening at the top of the funnel where you're filtering thousands; Standard or Custom at the bottom where the decision matters more.
Format-by-format guide
The table below adds typical duration, question count, and skill depth to the credit and use-case mapping. Final figures vary by role and configuration — these are the bands most clients land in.
Format | Credits | Typical duration | Typical questions | Skills scored | Best fit |
Custom Interview | 5 | 15–20 min | 7–10 | 8–12 | Specialized hires, complex roles, low-volume positions where evaluation depth matters more than throughput |
Standard Interview | 4 | 10–15 min | 5–7 | 6–8 | Comprehensive screening for customer-facing roles (CSR, sales, collections). The most common format. |
Short Interview + CEFR | 3 | 8–12 min | 4–5 | 4–6 + language | Mid-level roles where soft skills and English ability both matter, but neither needs an exhaustive evaluation |
Short Interview | 2 | 5–8 min | 3–4 | 3–5 | Quick soft skills check for high-volume roles where language is already known not to be the bottleneck |
Mid Screening | 2 | 5–7 min | 3–4 | 2–4 + language | High-volume entry-level roles where a fast language check plus a few key skills is enough to advance candidates |
Short Screening | 1 | 2–4 min | 1–2 | Language only | Top-of-funnel language qualification. Use when CEFR level is the only signal you need to filter on at this stage. |
Telco / Phone | 1 | 2 min | Scripted | None | Outreach, scheduling confirmation, post-application engagement. Not an assessment format. |
Custom Interview — for when the decision matters
The Custom Interview is the right choice when the cost of a wrong hire is high enough to justify ten-plus minutes of deeper evaluation per candidate. Specialized roles, technical-adjacent customer service positions, supervisory hires, and roles with unusual skill profiles all benefit from this format. With 7–10 questions and 8–12 skills, the per-skill evidence base is thick — most skills are surfaced by two or three different questions, so a thin answer on any single question doesn't disproportionately drag the score.
When not to use it: high-volume frontline hiring. The candidate fatigue cost is real, and at scale the marginal precision gain over Standard Interview rarely justifies the completion-rate trade-off.
Standard Interview — the workhorse format
This is the format most clients use for most roles, and the band where evidence depth and candidate experience balance most cleanly. Five to seven well-designed questions cover six to eight skills because well-designed behavioral questions surface evidence for two or three skills at once — a question about handling a difficult customer can simultaneously score Empathy, Active Listening, and Problem Solving. The 10–15 minute duration is short enough to maintain strong completion rates while long enough to produce defensible scores.
If you're not sure where to start, start here.
Short Interview + CEFR — when language is half the decision
For roles where English proficiency is a meaningful qualification but not the only one — most outsourced customer service work in non-native-English markets, for example — pairing a shorter soft-skills interview with a CEFR language assessment gives you both signals at lower cost than the Standard Interview. The trade-off is fewer skills scored (4–6 vs 6–8) and thinner evidence per skill. Reserve this format for stages of the funnel where you've already narrowed to candidates likely to meet the language bar; the CEFR score then confirms it.
Short Interview — fast soft-skills check
A 5–8 minute, 3–4 question interview producing scores on 3–5 skills. Best used when language has already been verified (in a prior screening or via the candidate's application materials) and you want a fast soft-skills filter before advancing candidates to a deeper assessment. The scoring is real and explainable; it's just thinner. Treat the scores as directional, not as a final decision tool.
Mid Screening — high-volume, top-of-funnel
This format pairs a quick language check with two to four key skills, typically the ones most predictive of role fit at the screening stage. It's designed for high-volume entry-level hiring where you need to advance the top half of applicants quickly. The credit cost is low enough to use at scale.
Short Screening — language proficiency, full stop
One credit, two to four minutes, a single CEFR assessment. Use this when language is the only signal you need at this stage and you have downstream assessment steps for everything else. Best at the very top of the funnel as a qualifying gate.
Telco / Phone — not an assessment
The 1-credit phone format is for scheduling confirmations, outreach calls, follow-ups, and other operational touchpoints that don't produce a score. Don't use it for assessment; it isn't built for it.
Stepping up or stepping down
A common pattern is to use a faster format earlier in the funnel and step up to a deeper one later. For example:
Top of funnel (high volume, low-cost filter): Short Screening or Mid Screening
Mid funnel (qualified candidate pool, soft-skills check): Short Interview or Short Interview + CEFR
Bottom of funnel (final assessment before recruiter handoff): Standard Interview or Custom Interview
You can run different formats simultaneously across roles, drawing from the same credit pool. If you're not sure which combination fits your funnel, the trade-off between assessment depth and candidate experience is one we've thought about across hundreds of roles — see TalkScore: how is the score generated? for the underlying methodology, or talk to your Account Manager for a recommendation tuned to your specific hiring funnel.
Volume Discounts
TalkScore offers volume-based pricing for organizations with larger hiring needs. The more credits you commit to, the lower your effective cost per assessment.
Volume discount tiers and terms are negotiated directly with your Account Manager based on:
Monthly or annual volume commitment
Number of active roles and assessment types
Contract length
Contact your Account Manager or email sales@talkpush.com to discuss volume pricing.
Pilots and Trials
New to TalkScore? We offer a free pilot program — typically 50 AI interviews at no cost — so you can evaluate the platform with real candidates before committing.
The pilot includes:
Access to the assessment format that best fits your roles
Full reports with scores, transcripts, and behavioral insights
Access to TalkScore Hub for analytics and monitoring
Support from the Talkpush team to configure and optimize your assessments
To request a pilot, visit talkpush.com or contact sales@talkpush.com.
Billing and Usage Tracking
Credits are deducted automatically when a completed assessment generates a report.
You can monitor your credit usage in real time through TalkScore Hub.
Unused credits carry over based on your contract terms — they don't expire month-to-month on most plans.
Detailed usage reports can be exported for internal finance and procurement teams.
Q: What happens if a candidate drops off mid-interview?
A: If the interview doesn't complete and no report is generated, credits are not deducted. You only pay for successful, completed assessments.
Q: Can I mix different assessment formats?
A: Yes. Your credit balance works across all formats. You might use Short Screenings for high-volume entry-level roles and Standard Interviews for specialized positions — all drawing from the same credit pool.
Q: Do async (legacy) TalkScore assessments also use credits?
A: Yes. Async recorded assessments within Talkpush question sets consume credits based on the equivalent format. Contact your Account Manager for the specific mapping.
Q: How do I know which format I'm currently using?
A: Your active assessments are visible in TalkScore Hub → Assessments. Each agent shows its configured format, active status, and usage metrics.
Q: Can I upgrade or downgrade formats mid-contract?
A: Yes. Formats are configured per role, not per contract. You can run different formats simultaneously and adjust as your hiring needs evolve.
Get Started
Existing Talkpush clients — Contact your Account Manager to activate TalkScore, select assessment formats, and purchase credits.
New to Talkpush — Visit talkpush.com or email sales@talkpush.com to learn about the full platform and request a pilot.
Custom assessments — If your roles aren't covered by the standard catalog, the Product team can design tailored assessments with custom skills, questions, and rubrics.
