In this article
Before you start
This page is one part of the interview process and loops path. The sections on rules also cover using AI yourself during hiring, because people search for both.
Why interviewers ask this
An AI interview rewards a candidate who prepared a clear structure, because the content of answers is one of the things scored. Platforms generally judge applicants on the content of their responses, their vocal delivery and their body language, according to Built In (September 2026), and content means clarity, relevance, structure and consistency.
A weak answer wanders, runs past the time window and drifts from the question. A strong answer names the situation, the action and the result in a clear order and stays on the question. A Staff-level answer also shows the candidate read the employer's rules on AI use and on being scored.
The format also puts candidates off: Built In reports that about 38% of United States job seekers in a Greenhouse survey say they withdrew from a hiring process because it included an AI interview. Knowing the format removes one source of that surprise.
AI interview from first principles
- AI interview
- An AI interview is a job interview in which software asks the questions, analyzes the answers, or both; in the most common forms a candidate records answers or talks to an AI agent, and in a third form AI transcribes or summarizes a human interviewer's conversation. The three formats differ in who asks the questions and where the AI sits in the conversation.
- Asynchronous interview
- An asynchronous interview is a recorded interview in which the candidate receives a standard set of questions and records each answer alone, with no live interviewer, so nobody reacts to what is said until the recording is reviewed.
In plain words
An AI interview works like a driving test with a checklist. Every candidate drives the same route. The examiner scores the same things. The analogy breaks in one place. A driving checklist is public. The criteria on an AI interview platform differ by platform and are not published in full, so you prepare for the general axes, not a secret formula.
In one precise sentence: preparing means fitting clear answers into the time window, delivering them well, and following the employer's AI rules.
Step 1: Find the format
Find the format before you prepare anything else. Built In (2026) describes three. Recorded interviews give every candidate a standard set of questions, and candidates usually can re-record before submitting. The live format has the AI ask follow-up questions based on your answers. In the third format a human interviews you while an AI agent works behind the scenes to transcribe or summarize.
Input: the invitation email or your recruiter. Output: one label for the format. If the invitation does not say, ask the recruiter. You now know whose questions you must answer; the next step is how.
Text description of the diagram
- Recorded interviews give every candidate a standard set of questions.
- The live format has the AI ask follow-up questions based on your answers.
Step 2: Answer in the window from bullet points, not a script
Structure answers as bullet points, not a script. After a short window to gather thoughts, candidates respond within a specified timeframe, typically two minutes. At an illustrative speaking rate of 130 to 150 words a minute, two minutes holds about 260 to 300 words.1 The coach quoted by Built In advises avoiding scripts, using bullet points rather than full sentences and being direct.
A four-beat structure for a behavioral answer, named for Situation, Task, Action, Result (the context, your responsibility, what you did, and what changed), is called situation, task, action, result (STAR) method, and the STAR method is the structure used in the rest of this page. Built In says it helps with structure. With an illustrative split of 15, 10, 60 and 35 seconds, the beats get about 35, 23, 140 and 82 words at 140 words a minute.1 The Action beat takes about half of those words. A read script flattens your delivery, and delivery is one of the scored axes.
Text description of the diagram
- A two-minute answer at 140 words a minute is about 280 words.
- The Action beat takes about half of those words.
Step 3: Build a story bank
Build a story bank of five or six stories and reuse them across questions. The interview coach in Built In suggests having about five or six stories ready. Outline each story once in STAR bullets, then tag it with the themes it can answer.
In an illustrative example, six stories tagged with three themes each cover eight behavioral themes, and every theme is covered by at least two stories.1 A question on conflict or failure then always has a second story to fall back on.
Use keywords from the job description where they fit the story. The same coach advises against stuffing them in. Input: your work history. Output: a one-page bank you can scan in a minute.
Step 4: Check the company's rules on AI use
Check the company's written rules on AI use for each stage of hiring, because the rules differ by stage. Anthropic's candidate guidance, last updated 10 July 2025, says to create your first draft yourself and then use Claude to refine it, to complete take-homes without Claude unless told otherwise, and to use Claude to research the company and practice your answers. For live interviews it says: "This is all you–no AI assistance unless we indicate otherwise."
Fortune reports that Anthropic had barred AI tools from its hiring process and reversed that in July 2025, so older guides describing a blanket ban are out of date. Re-read the current wording before each loop, and ask your recruiter when a stage is unclear. See how the Anthropic interview process works and OpenAI interview questions and process.
Step 5: Know your notice and accommodation rights
Employers in some places must tell you before software analyzes your interview. The Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act requires an employer that asks applicants to record video interviews and uses AI analysis, for Illinois-based positions, to notify you beforehand, explain how the AI works and what general characteristics it uses, and obtain your consent. Without consent the employer may not use AI to evaluate you.
New York City's Local Law 144 is enforced by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), which publishes a page on automated employment decision tools (AEDTs); its rules are in title 6 of the Rules of the City of New York, §5-300 and following. The law covers candidates and employees who are New York City residents, and tools used to substantially assist employment decisions.
Summaries such as regulations.ai describe notice at least ten business days ahead, naming the qualifications assessed and how to request an alternative process or accommodation. For a candidate who is a New York City resident, a notice sent on Monday 2 November 2026 (illustrative) means the tool can first run on Monday 16 November 2026, fourteen calendar days later, ignoring holidays.1
If a speech difference or accent may affect scoring, Built In notes that AI may not accurately transcribe it, so ask your recruiter early; Anthropic's guidance says the same.
Step 6: Set up and rehearse on camera
Set up your space, then rehearse aloud and time each answer against the window. Built In lists eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture, speaking pace and filler words among the factors platforms judge. A practical setup: camera at eye level, a light in front of you, a quiet room, a microphone check and a stable internet connection. Look at the camera, not the screen, when you speak.
Say each outline from your story bank with a timer set to two minutes, and stop at the end of the Result beat. Record yourself once and listen for filler words and flat delivery; Built In says monotone speech may be penalized. Anthropic's guidance encourages using AI to practice answers, so a rehearsal with a chatbot or a friend is fine where the rules allow. Input: your story bank, a timer and your camera. Output: answers that end inside the window. More on delivery is in what interview skills are and how to show them.
Step-by-step description
- Find out which of three formats you face.
- Outline answers as bullets, not a script.
- Keep five or six reusable stories.
- Read the AI-use rules for each stage.
- Read the notice and ask for accommodations early.
- Set up the camera, then speak each answer aloud against a timer.
- Find the format before you prepare anything else.
- Structure answers as bullet points, not a script.
- Rehearse aloud and time each answer against the window.
Knowing it is half the job. Saying it is the other half.
Interview Clozo is an AI interview copilot for real interview rounds: it hears the question and puts a strong answer on your screen, and you say it in your own words. See the features or how it works.
Start Free Trial →The Staff-level answer
A recruiter asks how you prepare for an AI interview. What do you tell them?
First I find out which format it is: recorded, live with an AI agent, or a human with AI taking notes, because the preparation differs. I keep five or six stories as short bullet outlines in the Situation, Task, Action, Result order, and I time each aloud against the two-minute window so I never read a script. I read the company's AI-use rules for each stage and the interview notice, so I know when AI helps with preparation and when it is not allowed. If a tool might misread my speech, I ask for an accommodation early. In the answer I give the point first, then what I did, then the result.
What makes it Staff-level is that it covers the employer's rules and the notice, not only the answer structure.
The rubric
| Dimension | Weak answer | Strong answer | Staff answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | treats every AI interview as the same | names the format and what changes | names the format and adapts to follow-ups or notes |
| Structure | improvises and rambles | uses STAR bullets | uses STAR bullets, leads with the point |
| Delivery | reads a script in one tone | practices aloud and varies pace | records, times and fixes filler |
| Rules on AI use | assumes anything goes | reads the rules for each stage | rereads current wording and asks when unclear |
| Rights | does not ask | reads the notice | asks about alternatives and accommodations early |
This is advice on what a strong answer shows, not any company's scoring sheet.
Three variants of this question
How do you ace a job interview with an AI?
If you mean using AI yourself, it depends on the stage and on the company's written policy. Use AI to research, practice and refine drafts where the policy allows it, and in a live round only if the company says so. For rounds built around AI tools, see the AI-assisted coding interview.
How do you ace an AI interview that you record alone?
Treat each question as a two-minute STAR answer, outline it in bullets and re-record if the platform allows it. Look at the camera when you speak, and keep your delivery natural rather than read.
What if the AI misreads my accent or speech?
Ask your recruiter early for an accommodation or an alternative process, and tell them what you need. Built In notes AI may not accurately transcribe non-native speakers, accents or speech impediments.
Common mistakes
- "I'll write out each answer and read it." (wrong) A script flattens delivery and does not adapt to follow-ups. (right) "I keep bullet outlines and speak from them."
- "Anthropic bans AI, so I won't use it even to prepare." (wrong) That was the earlier policy, reversed in July 2025, and current guidance encourages AI for preparation. (right) "I write my own first draft, then use AI to refine and practice."
- "Nobody checks, so I'll use AI during the live round." (wrong) Anthropic's rule is no AI unless the company says otherwise, and Fortune reports Goldman Sachs warned students against external sources, including ChatGPT or Google search. (right) "I ask the recruiter what is allowed and follow it." For résumés and applications, see whether applicant tracking systems detect AI.
- "I'll cram in every keyword from the job post." (wrong) The coach advises using them naturally. (right) "I use two or three keywords where my story fits."
- "The employer does not have to tell me an AI scores me." (wrong) Illinois requires notice, explanation and consent for AI analysis of recorded video interviews. (right) "I read the notice and ask how to request an alternative."
Follow-up questions
Can I use AI during an interview?
Only if the company says so. Anthropic's guidance says live interviews are "all you" unless it indicates otherwise, so ask your recruiter and follow the written rule for that stage.
Do I have to consent to an AI interview?
In Illinois, for AI analysis of recorded video interviews, the employer must get your consent first and may not use AI to evaluate you without it. Elsewhere the rules differ, so read the notice and ask.
How long do I get to answer in an AI interview?
Built In says candidates respond within a specified timeframe, typically two minutes, after a short window to gather thoughts. Check the platform's instructions, because the limit can differ.
Does an AI interview analyze my face?
Some vendors have used facial analysis, and Built In reports that HireVue stopped using it in 2021, while platforms generally judge content, vocal delivery and body language. Treat your delivery as scored and keep it natural.
What happens in an AI-assisted coding interview?
The round lets you use AI tools while you solve a problem, and your reasoning is graded. The page on the AI-assisted coding interview explains the grading.
Can I use AI on a take-home assignment?
Anthropic's guidance says to complete take-homes without Claude unless told otherwise. See a take-home assignment example and what an online assessment is.
- Find the format first: recorded, live with an AI agent, or a human with AI notes.
- Answer from bullet outlines in STAR order, not from a script.
- Keep five or six stories and reuse them across questions.
- Read the employer's AI-use rules for each stage, and re-read them before every loop.
- Read the notice, ask for an alternative or accommodation early, and rehearse aloud against the window.
Sources
- Guidance on Candidates' AI Usage (How to collaborate with Claude during our hiring process) — Anthropic, 10 Jul 2025
- Anthropic hiring U-turn: letting job applicants use AI — Fortune (Emma Burleigh), 21 Jul 2025
- Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act, 820 ILCS 42/5 — Illinois General Assembly (statute text, effective 1 January 2020), 1 Jan 2020
- Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDT), Local Law 144 — NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (enforcement began 5 July 2023), 5 Jul 2023
- NYC Local Law 144 (automated employment decision tools): candidate notice, summary — regulations.ai (undated page, read 2026-10-26), 26 Oct 2026
- Your Next Job Interview Could Be With a Bot. Here's How to Prepare. — Built In (Jeff Rumage), 16 Sep 2026
