The short answer
An AI interview is a job interview in which software, rather than a person, asks the candidate questions and evaluates the answers against criteria the employer sets. It can be live, where an AI interviewer listens and asks follow-up questions in real time, or one-way, where the candidate records answers to fixed prompts that are reviewed later. Hiring teams mostly use AI interviews as a first round, so every applicant gets the same screen at any hour and a human still makes the decision.
The AI interview explained
Every AI interview has the same three parts. First, the employer defines the role: the skills to test, the questions or topics, and a scoring rubric. Second, the candidate opens a link and takes the interview on their own schedule, by voice, video or text. Third, the software produces a transcript, a score or summary against the rubric, and often recorded clips, which a recruiter reviews before deciding who moves forward.
The formats differ in how much the software reacts. A live AI interviewer can probe a vague answer or move to a harder question. A one-way format plays the same prompts to everyone and can't ask "why?" A chat screen asks typed questions, often eligibility checks such as shift availability.
A concrete example: a company hiring 15 backend engineers sends every applicant who passes the resume screen a 25-minute AI interview. The interviewer starts with core language questions, follows up when an answer is thin, and asks a short system-design question of the candidates who are doing well. The hiring manager reviews the score breakdown and clips for the top group and invites them to a human panel. NTRVSTA, which publishes this glossary, runs this live kind of interview, with a video avatar or audio interviewer that adjusts difficulty to each answer.
What to check before you use one
- Is the scoring tied to the job? Ask what the rubric measures and how each score is built. Our guide to how AI interviews are scored covers what to ask.
- Does a local law apply? In New York City, a tool that scores or ranks candidates and substantially assists the screening decision can be an automated employment decision tool, which needs a yearly bias audit and candidate notice. In Illinois, an employer that uses AI to analyze recorded video interviews must notify candidates, explain how the AI works and get their consent first.
- Who decides? Keep a person accountable for who advances, and give candidates a way to ask for an accommodation.
For a longer walkthrough of the formats and vendors, read our full guide to AI interviews or compare tools in the best AI interview software.
Related terms
- Live AI interview: a real-time, two-way interview run by an AI interviewer.
- One-way video interview: recorded answers to fixed prompts, with no interviewer present.
- Adaptive questioning: changing the next question or its difficulty based on the last answer.
- Structured interview: the same job-related questions and rating scale for every candidate.
- Automated employment decision tool: NYC's legal term for software that scores or ranks candidates.
- Interview rubric: the written standard that says what each score means.
Questions
Is an AI interview the same as a one-way video interview?
No. A one-way video interview is one type of AI interview at most, and some are scored only by humans. A live AI interview is a two-way conversation where the AI asks follow-up questions in real time, while a one-way interview plays the same recorded prompts to every candidate.
Does an AI interview make the hiring decision?
It should not on its own. Most teams use the AI interview as a first round and have a recruiter or hiring manager review the results and decide who advances. Local laws such as New York City's Local Law 144 also add audit and notice duties when software substantially assists that decision.
Do candidates have to be told they are in an AI interview?
In some places, yes. New York City requires notice to candidates who live in the city when an automated employment decision tool is used, and Illinois requires notice, an explanation and consent before AI analyzes a recorded video interview. Telling every candidate up front is good practice everywhere.
Want to feel what a live AI interview is like from the candidate's side? Try a sample interview, or book a 20-minute demo with our team.
This is not legal advice.
