BrightHire uses AI Notes templates to decide what to capture from a conversation and how to structure the notes. Pick the template that matches the kind of meeting — a hiring interview, a scorecard write-up, an intake, a debrief, or a custom format your team defined.
What’s new: The old Notes/Summary dropdown is gone. On any interview, open the AI notes tab and use the Template button. That opens Template Studio, where you can switch templates, preview notes, or create a custom one.
Switch templates from an interview
On the interview, open the AI notes tab. The Template: row shows the name of the currently selected template (and a DEFAULT tag if it’s the org or user default).
Click the template name to open Template Studio. Choose a different template in the left rail, then click Apply template. Nothing changes on the interview until you apply or save.
Made by BrightHire vs custom templates
Template Studio groups templates in the left rail:
My templates — custom templates you created
Shared with me — custom templates others shared with you
Made by BrightHire — built-in templates BrightHire maintains
Made by BrightHire | Custom | |
Who writes it | BrightHire | You or a teammate |
Edit with the Assistant? | No — create your own template to make changes | Yes (if you have edit permission) |
Best for | Standard meeting types, consistent notes across the team | Your process, extra sections, a specific tone or structure |
Interview notes
Purpose: A clean, detailed summary of what was said, organized by the interview’s questions and answers.
How it works:
Pulls questions and answers out of the transcript and writes them up automatically
Notes are organized by topic or question
Clickable timestamps take you to that moment in the recording
You can edit, copy, or share the notes
Best for: Most hiring interviews — when you want a readable recap of the conversation, not a scorecard-shaped write-up.
Scorecard notes
Purpose: Structures AI notes to match your interview plan so interviewers can review question-aligned notes and autofill each feedback field.
How it works:
Aligns with the questions on your interview plan / ATS scorecard
AI-generated notes map to each scorecard section
Review and edit before submitting feedback
Best for: Structured interview feedback and consistent evaluations across the hiring team.
✅ Tip: If your org uses Greenhouse, BrightHire can automatically push AI-generated scorecards into your ATS.
Intake
Purpose: Summarizes recruiter kick-off calls into structured notes for job descriptions, requirements, and interview planning.
Best for: Hiring-manager intake / kick-off meetings before a search starts.
Candidate debrief
Purpose: Organizes panel feedback from candidate debrief calls into strengths, weaknesses, and hiring decisions.
Best for: Post-interview debriefs where the team is aligning on a hiring decision.
Coding Challenge and System Design
Coding Challenge writes up a software engineering coding interview chronologically by problem and step — thought process, questions, and proposed solutions.
System Design reports on a system design interview by topic — the problem, the candidate’s questions and proposed solutions, and interviewer hints.
Best for: Technical interviews of those types. Some orgs can set these as defaults for matching meeting titles.
Other BrightHire templates
Some organizations also see operational templates under Made by BrightHire:
Sales call — pain points, objections, budget, and next steps
CS call — product usage, feedback, and partnership goals
Product research — product roadmap and demo feedback from UX research calls
If you don’t see these, they aren’t enabled for your org.
Custom templates
Create a custom template when a BrightHire template isn’t quite right — extra sections, a specific tone, or a format unique to your team.
How it works:
Click New template in Template Studio (or Create new in Settings → Interview → AI notes templates)
Start from a BrightHire starter or a blank template
Describe what you want in the Assistant (typed or spoken). A live Preview shows the notes for the interview you opened Studio from
Set Visibility to Private or Whole org, and optionally make it My default
Templates shared with you that you don’t own are read-only — Duplicate them to get an editable copy.
Creating and editing custom templates
For the full walkthrough of Template Studio — Assistant, Preview, sharing, Settings inventory, and selection priority — see Custom Template Studio for AI Notes. The previous guide is Advanced Custom Templates for AI Notes.
How BrightHire chooses a template
The first matching rule wins:
Chosen for that interview
Personal default
Keyword match on the interview title
Meeting type
Persona
Organization default
Creator default
BrightHire built-in
You can always override the choice from the interview’s Template button.
FAQ
Q: The Notes dropdown disappeared. Where did it go?
A: Expected — it was replaced by the Template button on the interview’s AI notes tab.
Q: Why can’t I edit Interview notes / Scorecard notes?
A: Those are BrightHire built-in templates. They stay consistent for the whole team. Create your own custom template to change the format.
Q: When should I use Scorecard notes vs Interview notes?
A: Use Scorecard notes when you’re filling out an ATS / interview-plan scorecard. Use Interview notes when you want a chronological Q&A recap of the conversation.
Q: Can I use a custom template for just myself?
A: Yes. Create a template and leave Visibility on Private. Turn on My default if you want it applied automatically.
Q: Why aren’t my AI notes generating after an interview?
A: Close the meeting for all participants and make sure the AI bot has exited. If issues persist, try reactivating the recording.
For further assistance or feedback, please contact us at [email protected].