How to use PiriPiri AI
Install it, let it hear the call, then start a session when your interview begins. It takes about two minutes, and you only do it once.
1. Install it
On Windows
Download the Windows app
Get the .exe from the download page. If your browser says the file “isn’t commonly downloaded”, keep it: in Chrome click Keep; in Edge click ⋯ → Keep → Show more → Keep anyway. The app is new, so browsers have not seen it much yet.
Get past the blue “Windows protected your PC” box
When you open the file, Windows shows a blue box. It shows up because the app is new and not yet signed with a Microsoft certificate, not because anything is wrong. Click More info, then Run anyway.
First click More info. The Run anyway button only shows up after that. Wait a few seconds
There are no installer screens. It installs itself and opens a small sign-in box at the top of your screen. After that, the app lives in the tray (the small icons at the bottom right of the taskbar), not on the taskbar itself.
On Mac
Download it and drag it to Applications
Get the .dmg from the download page and open it. Drag PiriPiri AI onto the Applications folder. You need a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer).
Drag PiriPiri AI onto the Applications folder, then open it from there. Open it
Open PiriPiri AI from Applications, or press ⌘+Space and type PiriPiri. The first time, macOS asks if you are sure. Click Open.
Only the first time. The app is signed and checked by Apple, so this is the normal question — click Open. There is no Dock icon. The app is the small bar at the top of your screen.
2. Sign in
A small box says Sign in to get started. Click Log in. Your browser opens: sign in with the same account you made on this site, and the app signs in by itself. If you close the box without signing in, the app closes too.
Before your first interview: upload your CV on your account page (Documents → Upload document). The AI uses it to answer as you. PDF, Word or plain text.
3. Let it hear the call
PiriPiri AI needs to hear two things: you (your microphone) and the other person (the sound your computer plays).
On Windows
Your microphone: usually nothing to do
Windows does not ask about this. If the app cannot hear you, open Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone and switch on both Microphone access and Let desktop apps access your microphone.
Settings › Privacy & security › Microphone. Both switches must be On. The other person: nothing to allow
The app hears whatever your computer plays through its main speaker or headset. There is no box to pick and nothing to approve. Just make sure Zoom, Meet or Teams plays through that same device (Settings → System → Sound → Output).
On Mac
Microphone: click Grant, then Allow
The first time you click Start session, the panel shows Permissions needed. Click Grant next to Microphone, then Allow in the box macOS shows.
Click Allow. This is how it hears you. The other person: switch on Screen & System Audio Recording
Click Grant next to Interviewer audio. macOS asks about recording your screen and audio: click Open System Settings. You land on Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording. Switch on PiriPiri AI, then choose Quit & Reopen (or click Restart in the app). It cannot hear the other person until it restarts.
Turn on PiriPiri AI, then choose Quit & Reopen. Until it restarts, it still can't hear the other person. Why “screen recording”? Apple puts your computer’s sound under the same switch as screen recording. PiriPiri AI only listens to the sound. It does not record your screen. It needs macOS 14.2 or newer; on older versions it can hear you but not the interviewer.
4. Start a session
- Click Start session on the bar, or press ⌘+Shift+8Ctrl+Shift+8.
- Leave Meeting type on Job Interview and pick your Interview type: Software Engineer, Product Manager, Behavioral and more.
- Your latest CV is picked for you. Paste the Job description if you have it. It is optional, but answers get better with it.
- Click Start session. The timer on the bar starts and the app starts listening.
Start it when the call begins, not long before. The timer on the bar counts down from this moment.
5. During the interview
- Answer Now: press it right after a question (or ⌘+Shift+EnterCtrl+Shift+Enter). The answer appears on the right.
- Auto: switch from Manual to Auto and it answers every question by itself.
- Analyze screen: for a coding or written question on your screen. It reads the screen and solves it.
- End Session: click it, then click End? to confirm.
Want shorter or longer answers? Change Speakable to Hint, Concise, Bullets, Detailed, Steps or STAR.
Moving the bar: drag it by any empty spot, or snap it to a screen edge with Option+arrow keysCtrl+arrow keys. Nobody else sees it: the bar is hidden from screen share, screenshots and recordings.
Handy shortcuts
| Start session | ⌘+Shift+8Ctrl+Shift+8 |
| Answer now | ⌘+Shift+EnterCtrl+Shift+Enter |
| Analyze screen | ⌘+Shift+SpaceCtrl+Shift+Space |
| Go deeper on the answer on screen | ⌘+Shift+6Ctrl+Shift+6 |
| Previous answer | ⌘+Shift+,Ctrl+Shift+, |
| Next answer | ⌘+Shift+.Ctrl+Shift+. |
| Mute your microphone | ⌘+Shift+MCtrl+Shift+M |
| Mute the interviewer | ⌘+Shift+JCtrl+Shift+J |
| Quit the app | ⌘+Shift+XCtrl+Shift+X |
Change any of them from the bar’s ⋯ menu → Shortcuts. To quit, use ⋯ → Quit, or the tray icon’s menu → Quit PiriPiri AI.
6. If something is wrong
Windows says “Windows protected your PC”. Is it safe?
Yes. Windows shows this box for new apps that are not signed with a paid Microsoft certificate yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.
My browser blocked the download on Windows.
Browsers warn about files they have not seen many times. In Chrome, click Keep. In Edge, click the ⋯ next to the file, then Keep, then Show more, then Keep anyway.
It can’t hear me.
On Mac: open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and switch on PiriPiri AI. On Windows: open Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone and switch on both “Microphone access” and “Let desktop apps access your microphone”. Also check the mic button on the bar is not muted.
On Mac, it can’t hear the interviewer.
Switch on PiriPiri AI in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording. Then fully quit the app (⋯ menu → Quit) and open it again — macOS only applies this switch when the app starts. You also need macOS 14.2 or newer. If the bar says “Interviewer audio blocked”, its Fix button opens the right page.
On Windows, it can’t hear the interviewer.
The app hears your default speaker or headset. Open Settings → System → Sound and make sure the device your meeting plays through is the one picked under Output. If the bar says “No interviewer audio”, its Fix button opens that page.
On Mac, a box asks me to install “command line developer tools”.
Click Install and wait for it to finish, then start the session again. PiriPiri AI uses this free Apple tool to hear the call, and some Macs do not have it yet. If a session still hears no one and no box appeared, open Terminal, type xcode-select --install and press Return.
I can’t find the app on my Mac.
There is no Dock icon, on purpose. The app is the small bar at the top of your screen. If you quit it, open PiriPiri AI from your Applications folder again.
Can the interviewer see PiriPiri AI?
No. The bar and its answers are hidden from screen share, screenshots and recordings, on both Windows and Mac.
Still stuck? Write to us.