What Is an AI Interview? A Guide for Candidates
What an AI interview is, how it works, the main kinds, what one is like from start to finish, whether it's recorded, and what happens after you finish.
An AI interview is a job interview, usually the first round, in which an AI, rather than a recruiter, asks the questions and records your answers. You might answer on the phone, on video, in a chat or by speaking in your web browser, and the hiring team reviews your answers afterward to decide on the next step.
They are now common. In Greenhouse's May 2026 survey of 1,200 US job seekers (a vendor survey), 63% had been interviewed by an AI. This guide explains how AI interviews work, what the different kinds are like, what they look for, and what happens to your answers. The worked example is a DIO interview, because DIO is the AI interviewer Dio makes and the one described here in detail.
What is an AI interview?
An AI interview, sometimes called an AI screening interview, takes the place of the first call a recruiter would normally make. That call is mostly the same questions for everyone: what you do now, what you've achieved, why you're looking, why this role, what you want, and practical details such as your start date and pay expectations. Employers often use AI for it when they get more applicants than their recruiters can call back.
What an AI interview replaces is the scheduling and the first conversation. What it should not replace is the decision. In a well-run process, a person at the company reviews your interview and decides whether you move on.
One point of confusion: "AI interview" also describes practice apps that candidates use to rehearse. This guide is about the real thing, an interview an employer asks you to take.
How do AI interviews work?
Most follow the same steps, whatever the format:
- You get an invitation. Usually after you apply, as a link by email or text, or a call.
- You read a notice. A legitimate AI interview tells you that an AI runs it and whether it is recorded, and asks you to agree before you start.
- You check your setup. Your microphone, and your camera if the format uses one.
- The AI asks questions. They come from a plan the hiring team set for the role. Conversational tools ask follow-up questions based on what you said; simpler ones read a fixed list.
- Your answers are recorded or transcribed. Many tools analyze the transcript rather than the recording itself.
- The tool summarizes or scores your answers. Against criteria for the role, such as the skills and experience it needs.
- A person reviews it. A recruiter or hiring manager reads the results, and may listen to or watch parts of the recording.
- You hear back. From the hiring team, not the AI.
Not every tool does every step. A typical one-way video interview doesn't follow up, and some chat tools only ask yes-or-no questions about availability and requirements.
What are the different kinds of AI interview?
There are four common formats. Which one you get depends on the employer's tool, not on the job.
| Kind | How it works | What you need | Does it follow up? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone screen | An AI voice calls you, or you call a number, and it asks a few screening questions | A phone and a quiet place | Some do |
| One-way video | Questions appear on screen and you record an answer to each, often with a time limit; some tools score the video with AI | A camera, a microphone and a browser or app | Usually not; the questions are set in advance |
| Chat | Questions arrive in a chat window or by text message, often about availability and requirements | A phone or computer | Often only simple branching |
| Voice in the browser | You open a link and talk with an AI interviewer in your web browser | A microphone and a browser | Conversational ones do |
DIO is the last kind: a structured voice interview in your browser. A camera is never required.
What is an AI interview like? A DIO interview, step by step
Here is what happens from the moment you get the link to the moment you finish.
Before you start
The link comes from the hiring team. It might be a private link sent to you, or an open link the recruiter posted with the job. Dio does not send invitations itself, so the invitation should come from the employer. If you're unsure, check with the company before you go further.
When you open the link, you add your name, your email and your résumé. A résumé is required, so have the file ready. Then you read and agree to a recording and AI notice: it says an AI runs the interview and a person makes the decision. The interview page describes it as an AI-guided interview, so there is no doubt about who, or what, you are talking to. Last, you check your microphone. You don't need a camera.
During the interview
Most DIO interviews take about 15 minutes, and you take it whenever suits you; there is nothing to schedule. DIO asks about your experience for the role. In a first-round screening interview, those are the questions a recruiter asks on a first call: your background, what you do, your achievements, how you work, why you're moving, why this role, what you want, and pay and logistics.
When an answer is thin or vague, DIO asks a follow-up. That is normal, and it is a chance to add detail. A follow-up might go something like this (an illustration, not a script):
Interviewer: Tell me about a project you're proud of.
Candidate: I led our move to a new scheduling system.
Interviewer: What was your part in it, and how did it turn out?
You stay in control of the pace. You can ask DIO to repeat a question or skip it, turn on captions, and end the interview at any time. Two practical limits: interviews are in English only today, and each link works once, one attempt per role. If your connection drops, contact the recruiter.
At the end
DIO invites your questions about the role. It answers from the role's Q&A, which the recruiter reviews. When the Q&A doesn't cover your question, DIO says it doesn't have that information and tells you to check with the recruiter. Ask about anything that would change your decision: the pay range, the schedule, whether it's remote, what happens next.
What questions does an AI interview ask?
Many first-round AI interviews follow the arc of a recruiter's first call. DIO's screening round does: it covers your background, what you do, your achievements, how you work, why you're moving, why this role, what you want, and pay and logistics. The wording varies by employer and role, but questions along these lines are typical:
| Typical question | What it's checking | A strong answer includes |
|---|---|---|
| Walk me through your background. | Whether your experience fits the role | The two or three roles that matter most for this job |
| What does a normal week look like in your current job? | What you actually do, not just your title | Tasks, tools, who you work with, volumes |
| Tell me about an achievement you're proud of. | Evidence of results | What the situation was, what you did, and the result, with a number |
| How do you handle a busy week or a disagreement? | How you work with others and under pressure | A real example, not a general preference |
| Why are you looking to move? | Your motivation | A forward-looking reason, said plainly |
| Why this role? | Interest in this job, not any job | Something specific about the role or the company |
| What are you looking for in your next job? | Whether the job fits what you want | The two or three things that matter most to you |
| What are your pay expectations, and when could you start? | Logistics | A range and a date |
What do AI interviews look for?
Mostly what a recruiter looks for on a first call: whether your skills and experience fit the job, whether you are interested in this role in particular, and whether you can explain your work clearly. In DIO's screening round, those are the three categories every candidate is rated on: skills and experience, motivation and interest, and communication. Later rounds rate the specific competencies the role needs.
How the rating works matters for how you answer. In DIO, each competency is rated 1 to 5 against anchors written for that role. A competency score must quote your exact words, and the quote is checked against the transcript. Two different AI models grade each competency independently, and when the evidence isn't there, or the two models disagree about whether it is, the score is left blank rather than guessed.
In practice, that means the evidence has to come from what you say. "I'm a strong communicator" gives a scorer nothing to quote. "I wrote the weekly update for a team of 12 and cut our status meeting from an hour to 20 minutes" does. How to prepare for an AI interview covers how to get your best examples ready.
Are AI interviews recorded?
Often, yes, and a legitimate one tells you before it starts. Depending on the format, the recording may be audio, video or the text of a chat, and many tools also produce a transcript.
In a DIO interview, you agree to a recording and AI notice before you join. The interview is recorded and transcribed, and the hiring team sees the recording, the transcript, the scorecard and your résumé.
Who sees your AI interview?
The hiring team at the company that invited you. If you want your interview deleted, ask the hiring team. An admin, or the person who created the role, can delete an interview at any time, including when a candidate asks, and the recording, the transcript, the scorecard and your details go with it.
What happens after an AI interview?
A person reviews your interview and decides on the next step. In a DIO interview, a person on the hiring team records every decision, and you won't see a score. The interview goes to the hiring team, who decide whether to invite you to the next round.
How long that takes depends on the employer. In Greenhouse's survey, among candidates who had completed an AI interview, 28% moved forward to the next round, 13% were formally rejected and 51% never heard back. If a week or two passes without word, a short, polite email to the recruiter is reasonable.
Is an AI interview a red flag?
Not by itself. Plenty of real employers use them. The warning signs are the ones that mark any job scam: requests for money, requests for bank or ID numbers before you are hired, "interviews" held only in a messaging app, and offers made without a real interview. Are AI interviews a red flag? explains how to check an invitation in a few minutes.
How is an AI interview different from a human one?
The questions are much the same. The differences are around them: you can often take an AI interview at any time, the questions are often the same for every candidate, and nobody is reacting to you while you talk, which some people find easier and others find strange. What doesn't change is that a person should make the decision. For a side-by-side look, see AI interview vs human interview.
Quick tips for your AI interview
- Find a quiet room and test your microphone before you start.
- Read the notice, so you know how long it takes and who reviews it.
- Prepare five or six real examples from your work, with numbers and results.
- Answer the question you were asked, in a minute or two.
- Ask for a repeat if you didn't catch a question.
- Save a question about the role for the end.
The full version is in how to prepare for an AI interview. If your interview is with DIO, what to expect in a DIO interview has the details on one page. And if you work on the hiring side and want to know how these tools look from there, start with what an AI interviewer is.