Illinois AI Video Interview Act (820 ILCS 42): what employers must do

What the statute text actually says about AI analysis of video interviews in Illinois, plus the newer Human Rights Act rule on AI in employment.

The short answer

The Illinois AI Video Interview Act, 820 ILCS 42 (often shortened to AIVIA), sets five duties for any employer that asks applicants to record video interviews and uses artificial intelligence to analyze those videos for positions based in Illinois. Before the interview, you must tell each applicant that AI may be used, explain how it works and what general types of characteristics it evaluates, and get their consent. You may share the videos only with people whose expertise or technology is needed to evaluate the applicant. You must delete a video within 30 days of the applicant's request. And if you rely solely on AI to decide who gets an in-person interview, you must report race and ethnicity data to the state every year.

The Act took effect on January 1, 2020. Since January 1, 2026, a separate amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act also covers employer use of AI more broadly. This is not legal advice. Everything below comes from the statute text on the Illinois General Assembly's website, linked at the end, and you should review your own process with employment counsel.

Key dates

Date	What took effect	Source
January 1, 2020	Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act, Sections 1 to 15 (Public Act 101-260): notice, explanation, consent, sharing limits, deletion	820 ILCS 42, source notes
January 1, 2022	Section 20 added (Public Act 102-47): annual race and ethnicity reporting when AI alone decides who gets an in-person interview	820 ILCS 42/20, source note
January 1, 2026	Illinois Human Rights Act amended (Public Act 103-0804, HB3773): AI that has the effect of discrimination, zip codes as a proxy, and notice duties	775 ILCS 5/2-101 and 5/2-102, source notes
January 1, 2027	A further amendment to Section 2-102 (Public Act 104-793) takes effect; the AI paragraph reads the same in both versions we read	775 ILCS 5/2-102, source note

What the Illinois AI Video Interview Act requires, step by step

The Act is short. It has five sections, and four of them create duties. Here is what each one asks of you, in the order a candidate would experience it.

Notify before the interview (Section 5). Tell each applicant, before the interview, that AI may be used to analyze their video interview and consider their fitness for the position.
Explain how the AI works (Section 5). Before the interview, give each applicant information explaining how the AI works and what general types of characteristics it uses to evaluate applicants.
Get consent (Section 5). Obtain the applicant's consent, before the interview, to be evaluated by the AI program as described. The Act is direct on this point: an employer may not use AI to evaluate applicants who have not consented.
Limit sharing (Section 10). Share applicant videos only with persons whose expertise or technology is necessary to evaluate the applicant's fitness for the position. Your AI vendor fits that description. A wider internal audience may not.
Delete on request (Section 15). Within 30 days after an applicant asks, delete their interviews and instruct anyone else who received copies to delete them too, including all electronically generated backups. Those other parties must follow your instructions.
Report demographics if AI alone decides (Section 20). If you rely solely on AI analysis of a video interview to decide whether an applicant gets an in-person interview, you must collect the race and ethnicity of applicants who are and are not offered an in-person interview, and of applicants who are hired. You report it to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity by December 31 each year, covering the 12 months ending the previous November 30.

Section 20 also requires the Department to analyze the data and report to the Governor and General Assembly by July 1 each year on whether it shows racial bias in the use of AI.

What the Act doesn't spell out

Reading the text closely, several things that employers often ask about aren't in it. That doesn't mean they are unregulated. It means the statute leaves them to interpretation, so treat these as questions for counsel.

No definitions section. The Act doesn't define "artificial intelligence," "video interview" or "artificial intelligence analysis." The Human Rights Act amendment does define artificial intelligence, but for its own Article.
No form for the notice or consent. The Act doesn't say whether consent must be written or electronic. Many employers use a click-to-consent screen before the interview starts, stored with the candidate record, which gives you proof if you need it.
No penalty section. The five sections set duties but don't list fines or a specific enforcement process.
No retention period. The Act sets a deletion deadline after a request, not a maximum time you can keep videos. Other laws may set retention rules, so check before you shorten yours.

Another open question is format. The Act speaks of applicants who "record video interviews." A live, real-time AI interview that records video may well raise the same questions as a one-way recorded interview, and an audio-only format may raise different ones. If you use AI interviews in any format for Illinois roles, the safe course is to give the notice, explanation and consent anyway. It costs one extra screen.

The 2026 Human Rights Act rule on AI in employment

Public Act 103-0804 added a new paragraph (L), "Use of artificial intelligence," to Section 2-102 of the Illinois Human Rights Act, effective January 1, 2026. It makes two things a civil rights violation:

using AI that has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination on the basis of protected classes, or using zip codes as a proxy for protected classes, with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure, or the terms, privileges or conditions of employment; and
failing to give notice to an employee that the employer is using AI for those purposes.

The amendment defines artificial intelligence as a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers from the input it receives how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. The definition includes generative AI. That is far broader than video analysis. It can reach resume scoring, chat screening and AI interviews of every format.

The statute directs the Illinois Department of Human Rights to adopt rules on when notice is required, the timing and the means of giving it. Check the Department's current rules before you finalize your notice language, because the statute leaves those details to them.

A compliance checklist for AI interviews in Illinois

List every step in your hiring flow that uses AI, including resume scoring, video analysis and interview scoring, and flag the ones used for roles based in Illinois.
Write a plain-language explanation of how each AI tool works and the general types of characteristics it evaluates. Ask your vendor for help, but make sure a candidate can understand it.
Put the notice, explanation and a consent step in front of the interview, and store the consent with a timestamp.
Decide what happens if a candidate declines, and document it so every recruiter handles it the same way.
Restrict access to interview videos to the people and vendors who need them to evaluate the applicant.
Set up a deletion process that meets the 30-day deadline and reaches your vendor and backups. Get the vendor's confirmation in writing.
Decide whether any AI step decides alone who reaches an in-person interview. If so, set up race and ethnicity tracking for the December 31 report. If a person reviews every result, write down how.
Add an AI notice for employees and applicants under the Human Rights Act amendment, following the Department of Human Rights' rules.
Test outcomes by protected group, and make sure no input acts as a zip code proxy.

Bias testing is not a named duty under AIVIA, but it is the most practical way to catch the discriminatory effects the Human Rights Act now prohibits. Our guide to AI bias audits explains the impact ratio math auditors use.

How Illinois fits with other AI hiring laws

Illinois focuses on consent and data handling for video interviews, plus a broad anti-discrimination rule. Other places take different routes. New York City requires an independent bias audit and candidate notice for automated employment decision tools; see our NYC Local Law 144 guide. Colorado's law centers on disclosure and human review rights; see our Colorado AI Act guide. California regulates through its civil rights and privacy agencies, covered in our California guide. If you hire in Europe too, the EU AI Act hiring guide covers that side.

A practical approach for multi-state employers is to build one process that meets the strictest version of each common duty: notice before any AI step, a clear explanation, a consent or opt-out path, a human review option, limited sharing, fast deletion and regular bias testing. When you evaluate vendors, ask each one which of those pieces it supports out of the box. For one example, NTRVSTA publishes an independent NYC Local Law 144 bias audit by Asenion, finalized October 20, 2026, on its compliance page. That audit is for New York City's law. It is not a statement that any tool satisfies the Illinois Act, which depends on how you run your process.

Questions

Does the Illinois AI Video Interview Act apply to employers outside Illinois?

The Act is written around the job, not the employer's headquarters. Its duties apply when an employer considers applicants for positions based in Illinois and uses AI to analyze their recorded video interviews. A company based elsewhere hiring for an Illinois role should plan for it.

Can a candidate refuse AI analysis of their video interview?

Yes. The Act says an employer may not use AI to evaluate applicants who have not consented to AI analysis. Decide in advance what you will offer a candidate who says no, such as a review by a person, and apply it the same way every time.

How fast do we have to delete a candidate's video?

Within 30 days after receiving the applicant's request. You also have to tell anyone who received copies, including your vendor, to delete them, along with electronically generated backups.

Who receives the demographic report?

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, by December 31 each year. It only applies if you rely solely on AI analysis of video interviews to decide who gets an in-person interview.

Want to see how an adaptive AI interview handles notice and scoring from the inside? Run a sample interview yourself, or book a 20-minute demo and bring your Illinois questions.