AI Recruiting Academy › Module 3: Screening and interviewing with AI
The short answer
An AI interviewer is software that runs an early round interview for you. It asks the candidate a set of questions by voice, video or chat, asks follow up questions based on the answers, records a transcript, and hands the recruiter a summary and often a score. A person still decides who moves forward.
The best evidence so far is encouraging for high volume roles: in a study of more than 70,000 applicants, AI led interviews produced more job offers and better early retention than human led ones. The risks are candidate trust, technical failures and laws that require notice and consent before AI analyzes an interview.
What kinds of AI interviewers are there?
| Type | How the candidate experiences it | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| One way video | Records answers to questions on screen, at any time of day | Graduate, retail and customer service volume hiring |
| Chat or text interviewer | Answers questions in a chat window or by text message | Hourly roles and candidates who apply on a phone |
| Voice agent | A phone call with an AI that talks, listens and asks follow ups | First screens for call center, healthcare and logistics roles |
| Video avatar | A live video call with an animated AI interviewer | Structured first rounds where video is expected |
All four do the same basic job: they turn a phone screen that a recruiter would run into a structured conversation the candidate can take whenever suits them.
How does an AI interviewer work?
1. You set the questions. Usually five to ten, built from the job’s must haves, with a note on what a strong answer includes.
2. The AI runs the conversation. A language model asks each question, listens to the answer, and asks a follow up if the answer is thin. Voice tools turn speech to text and back again.
3. It writes up the result. You get a transcript, a summary against each question, and in many tools a score or a recommendation.
4. A recruiter decides. You read the evidence and choose who moves forward. This is the human checkpoint from Lesson 3 of Module 1.
Do AI interviews actually work?
The largest real world test so far comes from Chicago Booth economist Brian Jabarian and Luca Henkel, working with a recruitment outsourcing firm. More than 70,000 applicants for healthcare, IT and industrial roles were randomly given a human recruiter, an AI voice agent, or a choice between the two. Humans made every final hiring decision, and the AI said it was an AI at the start of each call.
According to Chicago Booth’s summary, interviews run by the AI led to:
| Measure | AI interviews compared with human ones |
|---|---|
| Job offers | 12% more |
| People who started the job | 18% more |
| Still employed after 30 days | 16% higher |
| Chose the AI when given the choice | 78% of applicants |
| Ended the interview because they disliked AI | 3.2% |
| Ended the interview because the system failed | 8% |
Two cautions. This was one firm and mostly high volume roles, so it tells you little about senior hiring. And the failure rate is real: one candidate in twelve lost their interview to a technical problem, so plan a fallback.
What do candidates think of AI interviews?
Many find them less stressful and more convenient, which is why most chose the AI in the Booth study. Trust is still low in general. Gartner’s 2025 candidate survey found only 26% of job candidates trust AI to evaluate them fairly, and 25% said they trust an employer less if it uses AI to evaluate them.
What closes that gap is being open about it. Say up front that an AI will run the first conversation, what it will and will not judge, and that a person makes the decision. Offer a human interview to anyone who asks, including candidates who need an accommodation.
What laws apply to AI interviews?
This is an overview, not legal advice. The clearest rule so far is Illinois’s AI Video Interview Act, in force since 2020, which applies when AI analyzes recorded video interviews for Illinois based jobs. Before the interview you must:
| Duty | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Notify | Tell the applicant AI may analyze their video |
| Explain | Describe how the AI works and what general characteristics it looks at |
| Get consent | You may not use AI on anyone who has not agreed |
| Limit sharing | Share videos only with people needed to evaluate the applicant |
| Delete on request | Delete the video within 30 days of a request, including copies held by vendors |
If you rely only on AI to decide who gets an in person interview, the Act also requires you to report applicant race and ethnicity data to the state each year. Recording laws, disability accommodation duties and the New York City audit rule from Lesson 1 can apply too. Module 4 covers these in depth.
How do you run AI interviews well?
Use structured questions. The same questions for every candidate, tied to the job, with a written idea of what good looks like. This is fairer and easier to defend.
Judge answers, not faces. Score what the candidate said. Avoid any feature that claims to read emotion, confidence or honesty from facial expressions or tone of voice.
Read the transcript, not just the score. Check a sample every week. If the summary credits someone with something they did not say, the tool is making things up.
Plan for failure. Give candidates a way to retake or switch to a person if the call drops.
Keep it to the first round. Use AI to replace the repetitive phone screen, not the hiring manager conversation.
Quick answers
Will candidates know they are talking to an AI?
They should. Tell them in the invitation and have the AI say so at the start. Hiding it damages trust and may break rules like the Illinois Act.
Can candidates cheat an AI interview?
Some try, for example by reading answers from another AI tool. Follow up questions about specific past work make this harder. Lesson 5 covers candidate fraud.
Are AI interviews good for senior roles?
Not yet as a main interview. The evidence so far comes from high volume hiring, and senior candidates usually expect a conversation with a person.
Does an AI interviewer replace the recruiter?
It replaces the repetitive part of the first screen. The recruiter still sets the questions, reviews the evidence, makes the decision and sells the job.