AI in Interviews: The Future Will Screen You Now

Artificial intelligence has already infiltrated nearly every phase of recruiting, from sourcing to scheduling, but for whatever reason, the interview remains its final frontier. 

Long romanticized as the most “human” part of hiring, interviews are now being re-engineered, streamlined, and scored by algorithms that don’t blink, get hungry, or rely on gut instinct.

It’s not a hypothetical trend. According to a recent PwC survey, 65% of HR leaders say they are already using or planning to use AI in the hiring process, with interviews listed as one of the most targeted areas for innovation. 

In high-volume roles, particularly frontline or customer-facing positions, the shift has already happened.

Candidates now routinely record responses to automated prompts, knowing their answers might be evaluated by sentiment analysis or voice inflection detection tools rather than a recruiter’s notepad.

Platforms like Humanly are leading the charge into AI-powered structured interviews, using machine learning to assess responses, flag inconsistencies, and generate scoring recommendations based on predefined job-relevant criteria. 

These tools promise a consistent, scalable, and (they argue) less biased experience than traditional interviews. 

The algorithms don’t get bored. They don’t check Instagram between Zooms. They just run.

AI Interviews: Efficiency Meets Ethics

There’s no doubt that AI interviews solve for scale. In enterprise environments, hiring teams can receive thousands of applications for a single role. 

A recent report from SHRM found that 88% of recruiters believe AI improves time-to-fill, especially when used in pre-screening and early interview stages. 

Structured AI-led interviews allow candidates to respond asynchronously, giving employers the ability to move faster without overburdening internal teams.

But speed isn’t the same as fairness. Critics have raised valid concerns about the use of facial recognition, tone analysis, and opaque scoring methods in AI interviews.

 A study by NYU’s AI Now Institute warned that many of these systems are “untested, unregulated, and often pseudoscientific,” flagging particular risk in tools that claim to infer personality traits or cognitive abilities based on non-verbal cues.

Moreover, researchers at MIT and Stanford found significant disparities in how AI models interpret accents, speech patterns, and facial expressions, particularly for candidates from non-dominant language groups or underrepresented backgrounds. 

While AI may be more “objective” than a hiring manager making small talk, it’s only as fair as the data it was trained on.

Structuring the Unstructured

That said, there’s value in using AI to bring order to the chaotic world of unstructured interviews. The traditional interview is famously prone to bias, with hiring decisions often based on irrelevant factors like “cultural fit” or whether the candidate made good eye contact.

A Harvard Business Review analysis of structured interview techniques found that consistent question frameworks and scorecards reduced bias and improved predictive validity by up to 25%.

 AI platforms that force consistency, asking every candidate the same questions, rating responses against the same rubric—can reduce the randomness that plagues human-led interviews.

When used correctly, AI can act as a guardrail rather than a gatekeeper. It can standardize the process, ensure compliance, and surface insights recruiters might miss, such as patterns in speech, keyword use, or alignment with role-specific competencies. 

In this sense, AI isn’t replacing the interviewer; it’s replacing the inefficiencies and inconsistencies that too often define the process.

Transparency and Accountability

The challenge now is not technical, but rather, it’s ethical and operational. Candidates rarely understand how their data is being used, or what criteria they’re being judged against. 

Few vendors offer meaningful insight into how models are trained, how they’re validated, or whether outcomes are regularly audited for disparate impact.

The EEOC has already issued guidance reminding employers that the use of algorithmic assessments must comply with anti-discrimination laws. 

Several lawsuits, most notably involving HireVue and Amazon’s shelved AI recruiting tool underscore the reputational and legal risk of relying too heavily on automated evaluations without human oversight.

Transparency is no longer optional; it’s a prerequisite for trust. Candidates are increasingly savvy. 

A LinkedIn survey found that 78% of job seekers expect clarity around how their applications are reviewed, and nearly half say they would abandon a process they perceive as unfair or overly impersonal.

AI Interviews: The Path Forward

The solution isn’t to avoid AI altogether. It’s to use it responsibly, and to draw a clear line between augmentation and automation.

 Use AI to manage scale, ensure consistency, and reduce administrative overhead. But keep humans in the loop for decision-making, candidate feedback, and contextual nuance.

This is especially critical as generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude become more widely adopted by candidates. Upwork reports that 22% of job seekers now use AI to generate interview responses or prepare for behavioral questions. 

Recruiters must now evaluate not only what was said, but whether it was said by the person applying.

Bot or Not: Humanly Recruiting Roundtable on AI Interviewing

If you want to move beyond theory and see how top practitioners are navigating AI in interviews, you won’t want to miss our exclusive recruiting roundtable just for recruiting and people leaders, “Bot or Not: The Truth About AI Interviews.”

Join Prem Kumar (CEO, Humanly), Erika Oliver (Analyst, Aptitude Research) and myself next Wednesday for a candid discussion on what works, what doesn’t, and how to build AI into your interview process without breaking your brand - or your candidate pipeline.

Hope to see you there!

📅 Upcoming Event: Bot or Not — The Truth About AI Interviews

Date: Wednesday, September 30
Time: 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT
Speakers: Prem Kumar, Matt Charney, Erika Oliver

👉 Register Now