AI-led job interviews have gone mainstream. In Greenhouse's 2026 Future of Hiring Candidate Report, released on October 20, 48 percent of US job seekers said they had taken an AI interview in the past year. Of those, 70 percent said it let them show their skills well. Only 7 percent said they would refuse an AI-led interview outright.
Key takeaways
- 48 percent of US candidates took an AI interview in the past year.
- 70 percent of them said it let them demonstrate their skills well.
- Only 7 percent would refuse one outright.
- Candidates were 2.7 times more likely to take an AI interview than withdraw if no human interviewer was available.
- 49 percent want to know a human will review their answers.
What is an AI interview?
Usually it is a recorded or live session in which software asks set questions, sometimes with follow-ups, and records or scores your answers. A recruiter may review the recording, a summary or a score. Formats vary by employer and vendor, so ask what to expect.
What did the survey find?
Candidates are more open than many people assume. They were 2.7 times more likely to choose an AI interview than to withdraw if a human interviewer was not available. But trust matters. Nearly half (49 percent) want to know a human will review their responses, and 40 percent want to know how they will be evaluated.
Human interviews have problems too. Three in four said their most recent human interview let them show their abilities well, yet nine in ten hit at least one issue, such as repeating what was already in their application or an interviewer who seemed to decide on first impressions.
Who is affected?
Applicants for high-volume roles such as customer service, retail, graduate schemes and entry-level office jobs are most likely to meet AI interviews first. The survey covered more than 2,800 candidates across five countries, with most findings drawn from 1,200 US respondents.
How should you prepare?
- Treat it as a real interview. Dress as you would for a video call and test your camera, sound and light.
- Prepare short stories using the situation, task, action and result format.
- Look at the camera and keep answers to one or two minutes.
- Ask the recruiter whether a person reviews the results and how you are scored.
- Read our guide to virtual job interviews and practise the walk me through your resume question.
What rules apply?
Rules depend on where you live. New York City, for example, requires employers using automated employment decision tools to have them audited for bias and to notify candidates. Greenhouse found 88 percent of candidates want at least one legal requirement for employers to be upfront about AI in interviews, led by advance notice (55 percent).
Source: Greenhouse, 20 October 2026.
Keep this insight useful.
Share it with your network, save it for later, or create a signed affiliate link.
Creating or clicking a link does not create earnings. Only fraud-reviewed outcomes can allocate an existing eligible paid-ad-funded monthly pool.
About the author
Lutaf Junijo
Career Content Editor, World Careers Hub
Lutaf Junijo is the Career Content Editor at World Careers Hub and Dev Global Jobs. He writes and edits our guides on jobs, CVs, visas, salaries and careers abroad, and he runs our official social media. Every fact is checked against official and trusted sources, named in the post, and errors are corrected as soon as readers report them.
