AI Interviews: What to Expect and How to Prepare

An AI interview is no longer only a recorded video. Some employers now send a voice or chat interview in which software asks the questions, follows up on your answers and scores them against a rubric.

The phrase covers three different things. In a one-way video interview a question appears on screen and you record an answer to camera, with AI sometimes transcribing and helping to score it. In a conversational AI interview an AI interviewer asks the questions out loud and follows up on what you said. In a chat interview you type answers to questions in a chat window. Your invitation usually says which one you have, and the preparation differs.

They are now common. In Greenhouse’s 2026 Candidate AI Interview Report, published on 1 May 2026, 63% of the US job seekers surveyed had been interviewed by an AI, and 70% were not clearly told up front that AI would evaluate them. The report does not define an AI interview narrowly and its examples include AI-scored recorded video, so read that figure as covering all three formats, not only the conversational kind.

This guide explains how the newer conversational formats work, using the two that publish the most about themselves: HireVue’s AI Interviewer and the Sapia.ai Chat Interview. It is also honest about what our own interview practice can and cannot rehearse.

AI interviews at a glance

Faced an AI interview: 63% of US job seekers in Greenhouse’s 2026 survey (1,200 US respondents), up 13 points in six months.
Told up front: 70% were not clearly told up front that AI would evaluate them, and 21% found out only after the interview had started.
HireVue AI Interviewer: Two-way voice interviews with follow-up questions, launched on 18 June 2026: the first product after HireVue acquired Hireguide’s technology and team in March 2026.
Sapia.ai Chat Interview: Five to seven typed questions, not timed, with 20 to 30 minutes suggested. No video, and it works on a phone.
Who decides: HireVue says recruiters always make the final call. Sapia says the employer’s recruitment team gets in touch after you submit.

Updated 8 November 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this guide.

The three things called an AI interview

One-way video interview

A question appears on screen, you get a short preparation window, then you record an answer to camera with nobody there. Nothing responds to what you say. HireVue’s recorded interviews, Willo and Spark Hire work this way, and employers may use AI to transcribe or help score the answers.

Conversational AI interview

An AI interviewer asks each question by voice, listens to your answer and can ask a follow-up about it, much like a phone screen with a recruiter. Your answers are scored against the criteria the employer set for the role. HireVue’s AI Interviewer is this kind.

Chat interview

You answer open questions in writing, in a chat window that works on a phone. There is no camera and often no clock. The Sapia.ai Chat Interview works this way and is assessed on your written answers alone.

HireVue’s AI Interviewer

HireVue also runs recorded video interviews, where nothing responds to your answer. Its AI Interviewer is a different product: a spoken conversation that responds to what you say.

Where it came from

On 10 March 2026 HireVue announced it had acquired the technology behind Hireguide, which it called a pioneer in agentic AI for hiring, and that the Hireguide team would join its product organisation. It named a voice-based AI Interviewer as the first milestone, and launched it on 18 June 2026.

What happens

HireVue describes dynamic, two-way voice interviews available to every applicant at any hour. Its product page says AI agents ask and record your responses, including probing follow-up questions, so a vague answer is likely to be met with a request for more.

How answers are scored

Each response is evaluated against the employer’s role-specific criteria, and HireVue says the AI shows whether the answer meets them and explains why. Recruiters see a ranked, evaluated list, and HireVue says recruiters always make the final call.

Consent, opt-out and adjustments

HireVue says candidates grant consent to AI use, can opt out, and can reach human support for accommodation requests and data access. It lists English, French, Spanish and Portuguese among the supported languages.

Sapia.ai chat interviews

Sapia.ai runs its interview as a written conversation. These details come from Sapia’s own explainer for candidates.

Format

Between five and seven open questions answered in writing, sometimes with a few multiple-choice questions as well. Sapia is explicit that there is no video recording.

Time

The Chat Interview is not timed. Sapia suggests allowing 20 to 30 minutes, saves your answers as you go, and lets you leave and pick up where you left off.

How much to write

Sapia’s tips suggest 50 to 100 words per question and its FAQ says 50 to 150, with 500 words as the maximum for any one answer. Aim for the range rather than the ceiling.

What is assessed

Every candidate is assessed on the same set of attributes derived from their answers, and Sapia says no sensitive characteristic such as gender, age or race is used. It advises checking spelling and grammar.

AI-written answers

Sapia says the Chat Interview checks for plagiarism from internet sources and can detect answers that come from content generators such as ChatGPT. Pasting a generated answer is a risk, not a shortcut.

What you get back

After you submit you receive an email with a My Insights personality profile based on the HEXACO model and a coaching tip. Sapia says the profile is for you only and is not shared with the employer.

How to prepare for an AI interview

1
Work out which format you have
Read the invitation for the words voice, call, chat, video, record or games. A conversational interview, a chat interview, a recorded video interview and a set of assessment games each need different preparation, and one invitation can contain more than one.
2
Build your stories against the employer’s criteria
AI interviews are scored against criteria the employer chose for the role. Find its competencies or values on the careers site and prepare one or two real examples for each, rather than learning answers to a generic list.
3
Prepare the second layer of every story
A conversational interviewer can ask a follow-up. For each example, know why you made the decision, what you did yourself rather than the team, what the result was in numbers, and what you would do differently, so a follow-up adds evidence instead of exposing a gap.
4
Answer the question in your first sentence
Rubric scoring rewards an answer that addresses the question directly and backs it with specifics. Lead with the point, then give the example. A long scene-setting opening only delays the part that earns the mark.
5
For a chat interview, write it yourself
Draft in your own words, keep to the suggested length, and check spelling before you send. Use the untimed format to think, not to paste: Sapia says it detects text from content generators.
6
For a voice interview, set up like a phone call
Find a quiet room, use a headset or earphones with a microphone, and test it first. Speak at a normal pace and finish your sentences; a short pause to think reads better than filler.
7
Know what you can ask for
If you were not told how AI is used, ask the recruiter. HireVue says its candidates can opt out of AI and request adjustments; other vendors and employers differ, so ask before the deadline rather than after.

Mistakes that cost you

Treating it like a chatbot

One-line answers suit a customer service bot, not an interview. Whatever the medium, the scoring looks for a complete example with your actions and a result.

Reading a script

A memorised answer falls apart at the first follow-up, and on a voice interview it sounds read. Learn the facts of each story, not the wording.

Pasting AI-written answers

Sapia says it can detect generated text, and a generated answer cannot be defended in a later human interview. Write what you would say.

Ignoring the follow-up

A follow-up is a second chance to add evidence. Answer the new question directly instead of repeating the first answer more slowly.

Assuming nobody will read it

HireVue says recruiters make the final call, and anything you say can come up again if you reach a human interview. Say only what you would be happy to expand on in person.

Leaving it to the last evening

Invitations expire. A microphone that is not detected or a dropped connection is easy to fix with a day in hand and impossible with an hour.

What our practice can and cannot do

CogniPrep’s interview practice is recorded practice with AI feedback. It is useful for an AI interview, but it is not one, and you should know the difference before you rely on it.

What it is

Recorded interview practice in the browser with AI feedback. On the early careers track you see five behavioural questions, get 60 seconds to prepare and up to a minute to answer on camera, then get scores for relevance, clarity and structure, filler words flagged and a model answer to your weakest question. On the experienced track an interviewer voice reads each question aloud, with no preparation time and up to three minutes per answer.

What it is not

It is not a conversational AI interviewer and not a chat interview. The questions are set before you start and do not change in response to what you say, so there are no live follow-up questions. If your invitation is a Sapia chat interview, written practice with the advice above will serve you better.

What carries over

The parts an AI interview scores hardest: answering the question asked, structuring an example, giving your own actions and a result, and speaking without a human nodding along. Hearing your answers back is how filler and missing results get caught.

How to add the follow-up

After each practice answer, ask yourself the four follow-ups in the preparation steps above and answer them out loud. That is the closest honest rehearsal of a conversational interview we can offer.

Practise answering out loud

Record answers to interview questions in your browser and get AI feedback on relevance, clarity and structure, then rehearse the follow-ups yourself.

See interview practice Sign up free

Frequently asked questions

Is an AI interview the same as a HireVue video interview?

Not always. HireVue’s long-standing product is a recorded one-way video interview, where nothing responds to you. Its AI Interviewer, launched in June 2026, is a two-way voice conversation with follow-up questions. Surveys such as Greenhouse’s use the term for both, so check your invitation for which one you have.

Will a human see my answers?

Usually, before any final decision. HireVue says recruiters always make the final call, and Sapia says the employer’s recruitment team contacts you after you submit. How closely each answer is read varies by employer.

Can I ask for a human interview instead?

Sometimes. HireVue says its candidates can opt out of AI and request accommodations through human support. Other vendors and employers set their own rules, so ask the recruiter. In Greenhouse’s survey, 46% of US job seekers wanted the option to request a human interview.

Can the AI tell if I use ChatGPT?

Sapia says its Chat Interview checks for plagiarism and can detect answers from content generators such as ChatGPT. Even where nothing is detected, you will be asked about your answers in later interviews, so write them yourself.

How long does a Sapia chat interview take?

Sapia suggests allowing 20 to 30 minutes for five to seven questions. It is not timed, your answers are saved, and you can leave and come back.

Does an AI interview judge my face or voice?

A Sapia chat interview is text only, with no camera. HireVue describes its AI Interviewer as evaluating each response against the employer’s criteria for the role, which is about what you say. Concentrate on the content of your answers rather than on performing for a camera or microphone.

How can I practise for a conversational AI interview?

Practise structured answers out loud, then practise being followed up: after each answer, ask yourself why, what you personally did, what the result was and what you would change. CogniPrep’s interview practice covers the first part with recorded answers and AI feedback, but it does not ask live follow-up questions.

Sources

Checked against these pages on 8 November 2026. Vendors change their products often, so your invitation is the final word on what you will sit.