Aura Rehearse allows Learners to practice real-world conversations with an artificial intelligence (AI) persona and receive a score with written feedback. This article explains what Rehearsals are, how to enable Aura Rehearse in Client Settings, how to add a Rehearsal to an Online Course, how Learners complete a Rehearsal, and how scoring and reviews work.

What Are Rehearsals

A Rehearsal is a Learning Object that places the Learner in an AI role-play conversation. The Admin describes the character the Learner speaks with, such as a customer with a billing question or a candidate in a job interview. The Learner holds the conversation as they would in real life. When the conversation comes to a natural close, the Learner receives a score and feedback based on a rubric the Admin defines.

Rehearsals are tracked for completion only. They carry no weight toward the Online Course score.

Requirements

The following requirements apply to Aura Rehearse:

• Absorb Aura must be enabled for your Portal, and your organization must have signed the required AI terms.
• Learners using the web must have the new Course Player, enabled through the Modern Course Player setting.
• Rehearsals are supported in the Absorb Learning Mobile App, which always uses the new Course Player. Rehearsals are online only and can't be completed offline.
• Each completed Rehearsal attempt consumes Aura credits. Text-only Rehearsals consume 10 credits while voice Rehearsals consume 20 credits.

Enable Aura Rehearse in Client Settings

Aura Rehearse is on by default for eligible Portals. The setting is located on the Aura Rehearse tab of the Aura configuration tile, which is visible to Admins who have access to all Departments and permission to edit Client Settings.

To turn Aura Rehearse on or off, follow these steps in the Admin Experience:

1. Click Client Settings in the Account menu.
2. Click the Aura configuration tile.
3. Click the Aura Rehearse tab.
4. Click the Aura Rehearse toggle.

The setting saves automatically, and a confirmation message appears.

When Aura Rehearse is turned off:

• The Rehearsal option no longer appears in the Add Learning Object modal frame.
• The Rehearsals report is hidden from the reports list.
• The Rehearsal re-assessment requested notification is hidden from Message Templates.
• Learners cannot access existing or completed Rehearsals. If a Rehearsal is required to complete an Online Course, Learners who have not completed the Course will be blocked from further progress.

Add a Rehearsal to an Online Course

Rehearsals are added from the Outline section of an Online Course, like any other Learning Object. Admins who can already edit an Online Course can add Rehearsals without any role changes.

To add a Rehearsal, follow these steps:

1. Open a new or existing Online Course.
2. In the Outline section, click Add Learning Object in the relevant Chapter.
3. In the Add Learning Object modal frame, select Rehearsal.
4. Complete the Details, Options, References, and Rubric sections in the Add Rehearsal window.
5. Click Save.

More information about building Online Courses can be found in the How to Create an Online Course article.

Details

The Details section defines the Rehearsal, the character the Learner speaks with, and the score required to pass.

Write an Effective Character Persona

The Character persona is one of the most important parts of a Rehearsal. It shapes how the AI character behaves, and Aura uses it, along with the Rubric and the Learner's responses, to guide the conversation to a natural close. A clear, focused persona produces a more realistic and useful practice conversation. When writing a Character persona:

• Write from the character's point of view. The AI isn't narrating a training exercise; it's playing a person, so brief it like an actor.
• Give the character a situation, not a job title. "You're a customer support rep" doesn't set a scene. "You're a customer whose subscription renewed last month at a higher rate, and you just noticed" does.
• Say what the character wants and how they'll act. Are they polite or heated? Pushing for an outcome, or venting? Informed or confused? One paragraph that answers these questions is more effective than five paragraphs of background.
• Don't over-script. Give the character a starting position and clear motives, then let the conversation adapt. Scripting every reply makes the conversation stiff.
• Align the persona with the Rubric, so the scenario gives the Learner a chance to demonstrate every criterion.

Options

The Options section controls attempts, voice, and review notifications. This section is collapsed by default.

Customize the Notification

The Rehearsal re-assessment requested notification can be customized for all Rehearsals from the Message Templates page. To customize it for a single Rehearsal, click Edit Template in the Options section. In the Edit Template window, update the Subject and Body, insert merge fields as needed, and click Reset Template to return to the Portal-wide version.

More information can be found in the Message Template Types article.

References

The References section provides the content Aura relies on throughout the Rehearsal. The AI character draws on References to give accurate, company-specific responses, and Aura also uses them to assess each attempt against the Rubric and to write the Learner's feedback. This section is collapsed by default, and adding at least one reference is strongly recommended for accurate conversations and scoring.

• Courses: Add up to two Online Courses, Instructor Led Courses, or Curricula. Only Courses processed through Course Extraction can be selected. More information can be found in the Aura Learner Agent: Course Extraction article.
• Global Resources: Add up to two Global Resources. This option appears only when Global Resources are enabled for Aura. More information can be found in the Aura Learner Agent: Global Resources article.

Rubric

The Rubric section defines the criteria the AI uses to evaluate each attempt. A Rehearsal needs at least one criterion and can have up to five. Click Add Criterion to add a criterion, and complete the following fields for each:

Write Effective Rubric Criteria

The Rubric determines how each attempt is scored and what feedback the Learner receives. It is also one of the factors Aura uses to decide when the conversation has reached a natural close, along with the Character persona and the Learner's responses. Well-written criteria lead to more accurate scores and more useful feedback. When writing criteria:

• Score behaviors, not just knowledge. Aura Rehearse is most effective at evaluating how the Learner handles the conversation, such as asking questions before giving answers, acknowledging a concern before solving it, or closing with a clear next step.
• Weight what matters most. If discovery is 60% of the job, give that criterion a Weight of 60. If accuracy matters but isn't the main skill being practiced, give it a lower Weight.
• Use fewer, sharper criteria. Three or four well-defined criteria give clearer coaching than five broad ones.
• Use a clear, specific Name, since Learners see it in their results.
• Use the Description to explain what a strong response looks like, including any specific actions, information, or steps the Learner should cover.
• Select Pass / Fail for behaviors that either happen or don't, such as verifying a customer's identity. Select Graded (0-100) for skills that vary in quality, such as showing empathy.
• Make sure each criterion can be demonstrated within the scenario in the Character persona, and that it reflects the content in the References.

The following example shows a Rubric for the example Character persona above:

The Learner Experience

Learners open a Rehearsal from the Online Course, like any other Learning Object. The same experience is available on the web with the new Course Player and in the Absorb Learning Mobile App.

Start a Rehearsal

The Your rehearsal screen shows the Learner Instructions, a How it works summary, and the number of attempts used when a limit is set. Previous attempts are listed below with their scores, and an unfinished attempt can be continued by clicking Resume.

To begin, the Learner clicks Start rehearsal. The Rehearsal takes a few moments to prepare before the conversation opens.

Hold the Conversation

Learners reply to the character in the message box and click Send Message. Each message can be up to 4,000 characters. Learners can also click Start dictation to speak their reply, if their browser supports it.

Learners don't need to end the conversation themselves. Aura automatically ends the conversation when it reaches a natural close, based on the Character persona, the Rubric, and the Learner's responses. Learners can also click End & get score at any point, for example if they realize they aren't prepared or want to practice something specific.

There is no time limit. To leave a conversation without ending the attempt, Learners click the Back arrow at the top left of the screen. The attempt is saved, and the Learner can continue it later by clicking Resume next to the attempt in the Previous attempts list on the Your rehearsal screen. Resuming continues the same attempt, and Resume is available while the Learner has attempts remaining. An unfinished attempt can also be resumed if the conversation is interrupted, such as by a lost internet connection or a browser crash. If the interruption happens while the character is replying, the Learner may need to send their last message again.

When Voice mode is on, it starts automatically in supported browsers, which are Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Safari. In unsupported browsers, the microphone icon will be greyed out. The character's replies are spoken aloud, the microphone button turns the microphone on or off, and the Learner can click Exit voice to return to typing.

View Results

When Aura ends the conversation, the Learner clicks See how you did below the character's last message to open their results. When the Learner clicks End & get score, the results open directly. The results show:

• The overall score, out of 100.
• A Target met or Keep practicing indicator, based on the Passing Score.
• A Rubric breakdown with the score and supporting evidence for each criterion.

To try again, the Learner clicks Re-attempt. Once all attempts are used, a message tells the Learner to contact their Admin for another try.

Scoring and Completion

The overall score is a weighted average of all rubric criteria. A Pass / Fail criterion counts as 100 if passed or 0 if failed, at its full weight. Aura does not end the conversation on its own until all criteria have been evaluated. If the Learner clicks End & get score before a criterion is evaluated, that criterion scores 0 or Fail.

For example, a Rehearsal has two criteria: a Graded (0-100) criterion weighted 60 and a Pass / Fail criterion weighted 40. If the Learner scores 80 on the first and passes the second, their overall score is 88.

The attempt meets the target when the overall score is equal to or greater than the Passing Score in place when the attempt started. Each attempt keeps its own score.

The Rehearsal is marked complete as soon as any attempt is scored, whether or not it meets the target.

Review Rehearsal Scores

Learners can request a manual review of a scored attempt, and reviewers can confirm or adjust the AI score.

Request a Review

From the results of a scored attempt, the Learner clicks Request a review. A review can be requested once per attempt. The recipients selected in the Rehearsal's Options receive an email with a Review attempt link that opens the attempt directly.

The Learner is not notified by email when the review is complete. The next time they open the Rehearsal, the attempt shows a Reviewed score label and the updated score.

Review an Attempt

Reviewers can open an attempt from the review request email or from the Rehearsals report. Any scored attempt can be reviewed, whether or not the Learner requested it. Reviewers need the Rehearsals permission and must manage the Learner.

To review an attempt from the reports, follow these steps:

1. Open the Rehearsals report.
2. Select the Rehearsal to open the Rehearsal Activity report.
3. Click Attempts for the Learner.
4. Click Details for the attempt.
5. Review the score, rubric breakdown, and Transcript.
6. Click Review score.
7. In the Rubric scores list, update the score for each criterion as needed.
8. Click Confirm score.

Confirm score becomes available once at least one criterion score has changed. The overall score and target result are recalculated, and the review replaces any earlier review. The Rehearsal's completion status does not change.

More information can be found in the Rehearsals Report and Admin Roles & Permissions articles.

Credit Usage

Each completed Rehearsal attempt consumes Aura credits. Admins can monitor usage from the Rehearsals tile on the Credit Usage screen, or by adding the Credit Usage - Rehearsals widget to the Admin Hub.

More information can be found in the Aura Credits System Overview and Widgets in the Admin Hub articles.