Interviews · 6 min read
What happens when an AI interviews you, and how do I prepare?
More employers use AI to run first-round interviews. How AI interviewers work, what they assess, your rights in the US, UK and EU, and how to prepare.
The short answer
An AI interview is usually a first-round screen where software, not a person, asks you questions by text, voice or video, sometimes with follow-up questions generated from your answers. The system transcribes and analyses what you say against the employer's criteria for the role, such as relevant experience, skills and how fully you answered, and produces a score or summary a recruiter reviews. Prepare as you would for a structured interview: know the job description, have short examples for its main requirements, answer each question directly, and be specific. Ask how your answers will be assessed and whether a person reviews them. In some places, such as New York City and Illinois, employers must tell you AI is being used.
Key takeaways
- Most AI interviews are first-round screens; a person usually makes later decisions.
- They score the content of your answers against role criteria, so specific examples matter most.
- Answer the question asked, using words from the job description where they're true.
- You can ask what's assessed, whether a human reviews it, and for an accommodation if you need one.
On this pageThe main kinds of AI interview
The main kinds of AI interview
| Format | How it works | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Chat screen | Text questions about experience, availability, eligibility | Short, specific answers; check spelling |
| One-way video with AI scoring | Recorded answers to set questions, transcribed and scored | Structured examples; clear audio |
| Conversational voice or avatar | A voice agent asks and follows up in real time | Answer the question directly; pause before answering |
| Skills test with AI marking | Written or coding tasks marked automatically | Practise under time limits |
What the system is usually scoring
The employer sets criteria for the role, often taken from the job description: experience with certain tasks, specific skills, examples of behaviours such as problem solving. The system matches what you say against those criteria and may score whether you answered fully and gave evidence. That means vague answers score poorly, even if you'd charm a human. Name the task, the tool, your action and the result. Using the employer's own words for a skill helps the match, as long as it's true.
How to prepare
- List the five main requirements in the job description.
- Prepare a 60 to 90 second example for each, in STAR order.
- Practise speaking to a camera or microphone with a timer.
- Test your connection, audio and lighting. Use a wired headset if you can.
- Read the instructions: can you retake a question, how long is each answer, is there thinking time?
- If you need an adjustment, such as extra time or a different format, request it before you start.
Your rights, by place
- New York City: employers using automated tools to screen candidates must have them bias-audited each year, publish a summary and tell you at least ten business days before use.
- Illinois: for AI-analysed video interviews, employers must tell you, explain how the AI works and get your consent, and must delete videos on request.
- European Union: the AI Act treats AI used in recruitment as high risk, with duties on transparency and human oversight phasing in.
- UK: data protection law gives you rights to information and to challenge significant decisions made solely by automated means.
- Everywhere: disability law requires employers to consider reasonable adjustments to the format.
Illustrative example: vague versus specific
Asked about handling a difficult customer, one candidate says she's patient and always puts customers first. Another says she handled a billing complaint from a client threatening to leave, found a double charge in the system, refunded it the same day and set up a check that stopped it recurring. Both may be equally good at the job. Only the second gives the system, or a person, anything to score.
What happens to the gaps
Applying shows you what employers want that you can't show yet: a must-have your CV doesn't mention, or a question you couldn't answer well. Hand the job from OffLadder CV to Laddie, our AI coach, and it turns each one into three steps:
- Learn the skill: a short lesson on what the post asks for, starting from the basics.
- Try the work: a 15-minute task taken from the job itself, so you have a real example to talk about.
- Practise the interview: a five-question mock interview for that role, weighted to the parts you're least sure of.
The conversation stays in your OffLadder account. Once you've done the work, add it to your CV in your own words, and the next post you tailor for can point to it.
Questions people ask
- Can AI really decide whether I get the job?
- In most processes, the AI screens and ranks, and a recruiter decides who moves forward. Some employers do automatically reject below a threshold. Under the EU AI Act, recruitment AI is classed as high risk, with requirements for human oversight, and in the UK data protection law limits decisions made solely by automated means that significantly affect you.
- Do AI interviews analyse facial expressions?
- Most major vendors say they've dropped facial analysis after criticism about bias and scientific validity, and focus on what you say. Some tools may still look at speech features. If it matters to you, ask the employer what data is analysed; in Illinois, employers must explain how the AI works for video interviews.
- Is it okay to use AI to help me answer during an AI interview?
- Using AI to prepare is fine. Reading AI-generated answers during a live interview is usually against the rules, often detectable from timing and phrasing, and leaves you exposed in later rounds when a person asks follow-ups. Prepare your examples in advance, in your own words.
- Can I ask for a human interviewer instead?
- You can ask, and if you have a disability that makes the format hard, you can request a reasonable adjustment or accommodation, which employers in the UK and US must consider. Some will offer a phone or live alternative. Ask early, before the deadline.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Automated employment decision tools (Local Law 144) · NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection
- Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act (820 ILCS 42) · Illinois General Assembly
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the Artificial Intelligence Act · EUR-Lex, European Union
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.