When They Send AI To Interview You
On AI job interviews: if you're hiring a human, don't you actually want to at least talk to them? Why outsourcing interviews to AI is a missed opportunity, and what to do if you get one.
Every other week I hear from colleagues that they've just had their first job interview run entirely by AI. Sometimes disclosed ahead of time, often ambushed in a call, and at times not even mentioned during the conversation — with AI pretending to be human, and failing miserably at that.
It's so incredibly saddening — and deeply contradictory to me.
So What Is a Job Interview Actually For? #
If you're hiring a human, don't you actually want to at least talk to them? Isn't the whole idea of the job interview process to understand how candidates think, how they communicate, how they make decisions, what excites and motivates them — and most importantly what it's like to have them around?
The point of a job interview is never to just gather data about a candidate. It's trying to understand just how well a person actually fits in the team, with the experience, values, principles that they bring along.
You don't learn that from a scripted conversation — you learn it from taking time to open up and show sincerity. It needs time and perhaps even awkward silences.
That's not what AI excels at.
Human–AI Conversation ≠ Human Conversation #
We often assume that AI chat and human chat are very much alike. But they are vastly different.
Illustration by Mike Gower, from his article on the accessibility challenges of AI chat.
People don't laugh at jokes and silly anecdotes from life stories with AI. They don't lighten up by learning about the projects and opportunities by chatting with an AI agent. They don't complete each other's sentences with AI.
People don't open up — they close down. And they behave and speak very differently with humans compared to AI.
What It Says About a Company #
In all the AI hype, I keep wondering what it actually says about a company that hires AI to hire its own employees. Either they don't think the conversation with the candidate is worth their time, or they don't believe the interview will give them any insight they wouldn't get with AI alone.
Neither is great. But in reality, it simply shows just how little they respect the human that they need for that job opening — and how little they value their time, expertise and what they bring along beyond their CV, as a human being.
If a company won't give you an hour of their time before hiring you, just what type of relationship can you expect from them for years to come?
What To Do If You Get One #
If you find yourself invited to an AI interview, I would reply to a recruiter/HR with a short message asking specific questions that AI would have a very hard time answering well without hallucinations.
Perhaps something like this:
"Before I confirm, I'd love to arrange a short conversation with someone from the team. More specifically, I'd love to understand where a team has struggled, what's working well, and what could be improved.
- Why did this position open — and what's been tried before?
- Where does the team struggle most right now?
- How are design decisions actually made?
- What role does UX research genuinely play?
- What would a successful first six months look like — specifically?
A job description or AI can't answer any of those reliably. Even 20 minutes would make a real difference. I'd love to learn more about the company, and I find that a real conversation is usually the best way to find out whether we're a good fit — for both of us."
A short, friendly message that puts the decision back where it belongs — within a human-to-human conversation. If anything, it will bring you in as someone who actually cares about making a difference, and if not, you still can choose how you wish to proceed.
Wrapping Up: A Big Missed Opportunity #
A job interview is one of the first real signals a company sends about who they are and what they value.
They might get away with anything these days due to poor job market conditions, but employees don't forget that first experience quickly. And that experience sets the stage for everything that will come later.
I just don't see how you can build a strong relationship by sending a prospect employee off to speak to AI first. It tells quite a bit about what kind of company they are and how they treat their employees — and what to expect from them when something goes sideways.
