Build personas that match your actual users, not generic archetypes.

CBrowser's persona creation tools build custom cognitive profiles from scratch. Choose between a research-backed questionnaire or a natural language description. Custom personas behave consistently across all journey and testing tools.

Two Ways to Create Personas

1. Description Mode (Fast)

Describe the persona in plain language. AI infers the traits.

// Step 1: Start creation
{
  "tool": "persona_create_start",
  "params": {
    "mode": "description",
    "name": "enterprise-cto"
  }
}

// Step 2: Provide description
{
  "tool": "persona_create_from_description",
  "params": {
    "sessionId": "create_abc123",
    "description": "CTO at a Fortune 500 company. Extremely time-constrained, delegates evaluation to team. Only looks at executive summaries and security certifications. Skeptical of vendors, needs proof of enterprise customers. Won't read more than 2 paragraphs."
  }
}

// Step 3: Review and submit
{
  "tool": "persona_create_submit_traits",
  "params": {
    "sessionId": "create_abc123",
    "traits": { /* reviewed/adjusted traits */ },
    "save": true
  }
}

2. Questionnaire Mode (Precise)

Answer research-backed questions to set precise trait values.

// Step 1: Start creation
{
  "tool": "persona_create_start",
  "params": {
    "mode": "questionnaire",
    "name": "cautious-buyer"
  }
}

// Step 2: Start questionnaire
{
  "tool": "persona_create_questionnaire_start",
  "params": {
    "sessionId": "create_abc123",
    "comprehensive": false  // 8 core traits
  }
}

// Step 3: Answer each question
{
  "tool": "persona_create_questionnaire_answer",
  "params": {
    "sessionId": "create_abc123",
    "answer": 2  // e.g., "Somewhat patient"
  }
}
// Repeat for each question...

The 26 Cognitive Traits

Custom personas use 26 research-validated traits:

Tier 1: Core (7 traits)

Trait	Low Value	High Value
Patience	Abandons quickly on any delay	Waits indefinitely
Risk Tolerance	Only clicks familiar things	Clicks anything
Comprehension	Misreads icons, confused by layout	Gets it instantly
Persistence	Gives up after first failure	Keeps trying forever
Curiosity	Direct path only	Explores everything
Working Memory	Forgets what they tried	Perfect recall
Reading Tendency	Scans for buttons	Reads every word

Tier 2: Emotional (4 traits)

Trait	Low Value	High Value
Resilience	Derailed by any setback	Bounces back instantly
Self-Efficacy	"I can't figure this out"	"I can do anything"
Trust Calibration	Trusts nothing	Trusts everything
Interrupt Recovery	Loses all context	Picks up seamlessly

Tier 3: Decision-Making (5 traits)

Trait	Low Value	High Value
Satisficing	First option works	Must find the best
Information Foraging	Takes what's offered	Hunts for more
Anchoring Bias	First price is the price	Compares extensively
Time Horizon	Only immediate benefits	Plans for future
Attribution Style	"It's my fault"	"It's their fault"

Tier 4: Planning (3 traits)

Trait	Low Value	High Value
Metacognitive Planning	Dives in without plan	Plans every step
Procedural Fluency	Struggles with forms	Handles any workflow
Transfer Learning	Every site is new	Applies past experience

Tier 5: Perception (2 traits)

Trait	Low Value	High Value
Change Blindness	Misses all changes	Notices everything
Mental Model Rigidity	Expects exact patterns	Adapts to variations

Tier 6: Social (4 traits)

Trait	Low Value	High Value
Authority Sensitivity	Ignores credentials	Persuaded by authority
Emotional Contagion	Unaffected by tone	Mirrors page emotion
FOMO	Immune to urgency	Panics at countdown
Social Proof Sensitivity	Ignores reviews	Heavily influenced

Example: Creating "Skeptical Enterprise Buyer"

Using Description Mode

{
  "description": "IT procurement manager at a healthcare company. Extremely risk-averse due to compliance requirements. Needs to see HIPAA certification, SOC 2 reports, and existing healthcare customers. Won't proceed without these. Takes notes on everything. Will read the fine print. Doesn't trust marketing language - wants technical docs."
}

Inferred traits:

riskTolerance: 0.15 (very low)
trustCalibration: 0.25 (skeptical)
readingTendency: 0.85 (reads everything)
authoritySensitivity: 0.80 (needs credentials)
socialProofSensitivity: 0.70 (wants customer references)
patience: 0.70 (thorough but not slow)
proceduralFluency: 0.65 (handles enterprise forms)

Using Questionnaire Mode

Q1: When a website takes longer than expected to load, this person typically:

(1) Leaves immediately
(2) Waits a few seconds then leaves
(3) Waits patiently for about 10 seconds
(4) Waits as long as it takes → Answer: 3 (patience = 0.6)

Q2: When encountering an unfamiliar button or feature, this person:

(1) Never clicks anything unfamiliar
(2) Rarely clicks unfamiliar elements
(3) Sometimes explores new features
(4) Clicks on everything to see what happens → Answer: 2 (riskTolerance = 0.25)

Continue for all 8 core traits...

Using Custom Personas

Once created, use your persona anywhere:

// In cognitive journeys
{
  "tool": "cognitive_journey_init",
  "params": {
    "persona": "skeptical-enterprise-buyer",
    "startUrl": "https://example.com/enterprise",
    "goal": "Request a demo"
  }
}

// In persona comparisons
{
  "tool": "compare_personas",
  "params": {
    "personas": ["skeptical-enterprise-buyer", "startup-founder", "first-timer"],
    "startUrl": "https://example.com/pricing",
    "goal": "Understand pricing"
  }
}

// In empathy audits
{
  "tool": "empathy_audit",
  "params": {
    "personas": ["skeptical-enterprise-buyer"],
    "task": "Find security documentation"
  }
}

Best Practices

Be Specific

Good: "Financial advisor at a regional bank. 50s, uses tech but not an early adopter. Concerned about data security. Must justify purchases to compliance."

Bad: "Business professional"

Include Motivations

What does this person want? What are they afraid of? These shape trait values.

Include Context

Job title, industry, company size, and tech comfort all help inference.

Test and Iterate

Run a few journeys. Check if behavior matches expectations. Adjust traits as needed.

Trait Correlations

CBrowser applies research-based trait correlations automatically.

If You Set...	These Also Adjust
Low patience	↓ Resilience, ↑ Satisficing
Low risk tolerance	↓ Curiosity, ↑ Social proof need
Low comprehension	↑ Reading tendency (compensating)
High FOMO	↓ Time horizon

This produces more realistic, internally consistent personas.

Tool Persona Create