The short answer: AI now touches most stages of hiring: writing and targeting job ads, screening and ranking applications, chatbots that answer questions and schedule interviews, online assessments, and one-way video interviews that are transcribed and sometimes scored. People still make most final decisions, and regulators increasingly require that: New York City requires bias audits and candidate notices for automated hiring tools, and the EU AI Act classes recruitment AI as high-risk and bans AI that infers emotions in the workplace (with narrow medical and safety exceptions). For candidates, the practical response is the same as ever, done more deliberately: a clear, honest resume that matches the job, structured answers with specific evidence, and practice on camera.
Where AI shows up in the hiring process
| Stage | How AI is used | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Job ads and sourcing | Drafting job descriptions, targeting ads, searching profiles for matches | Keep your LinkedIn and online profiles consistent with your resume |
| Application screening | Parsing resumes, matching them to requirements, ranking or filtering | Use the job’s real terms where they’re true for you, in a simple format |
| Chatbots and scheduling | Answering candidate questions, collecting information, booking interviews | Answer screening questions accurately; they can act as knockouts |
| Assessments | Skills tests, work samples, game-based or situational judgment tests | Practice the format; ask about accommodations if you need them |
| One-way video interviews | Recording answers to set questions; transcription, sometimes AI-assisted scoring | Structure answers clearly; content matters most |
| Live interviews | Note-taking, summaries, structured scorecards for interviewers | Specific examples are easier to capture and compare |
| Offers and onboarding | Pay benchmarking, document processing | Do your own salary research |
How much a given employer automates varies widely. Many use AI to organize and summarize, with recruiters and hiring managers making the decisions.
What AI can and can’t do well
Where it helps: handling volume, scheduling, consistency (every candidate gets the same questions), faster responses, and helping recruiters find relevant experience they might miss.
Where it’s risky: models can learn bias from historical hiring data, keyword matching can miss qualified people who describe their experience differently, and scoring based on things that aren’t job-related (tone of voice, facial expressions, background) is hard to link to job performance and, in some places, restricted or banned. That’s why responsible employers keep a human in the decision and audit their tools.
The rules employers have to follow
Rules vary by country and are changing quickly. Two examples show the direction:
- New York City (Local Law 144 of 2021): employers and employment agencies can’t use an automated employment decision tool unless it has had a bias audit within one year of use, a summary of the audit is publicly available, and required notices have been given to candidates or employees. The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection began enforcing the law on 5 July 2023, and says the notice must be given 10 business days before use.
- European Union (AI Act): Annex III lists AI systems intended for the recruitment or selection of people, “in particular to place targeted job advertisements, to analyse and filter job applications, and to evaluate candidates,” as high-risk, which brings obligations such as risk management, human oversight and transparency. Article 5 separately prohibits AI systems that infer people’s emotions in the workplace, except for medical or safety reasons.
Anti-discrimination laws apply to hiring decisions whether or not AI is involved. If you’re a candidate in a covered location, you may have the right to be told when an automated tool is used and to ask about alternatives or accommodations.
What candidates think about AI in hiring
Candidates are wary. In a 2023 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults, 66% said they would not want to apply for a job with an employer that used AI to help make hiring decisions (32% said they would), and Americans opposed AI making final hiring decisions by a 71% to 7% margin. Transparency matters: telling candidates what AI does and doesn’t decide builds trust.
How to prepare as a candidate
Your resume
- Match the job honestly. Use the posting’s key skills and tools where you actually used them. See our resume keywords guide.
- Keep the format simple: standard headings, no text in images, no tables for key content.
- Show results, not just duties: screeners and recruiters both look for evidence. See resume bullet points.
- If you use AI to help write it, check every claim. Our guide to tailoring your resume with AI covers how to do it without inventing anything.
AI and one-way video interviews
- Structure every answer: point first, then a specific example (STAR), then the result.
- Answer the question asked, in two minutes or less.
- Practice on camera so recording feels normal. See our HireVue interview guide and video interview practice.
- Check the setup: light in front of you, camera at eye level, quiet room, stable connection.
Using AI yourself
- Prepare with AI, don’t perform with it. Using AI to research a company or practice answers is common; using it to answer during a live interview usually isn’t allowed. Google’s interview tips, for example, say Search and AI “are not permitted to be used during your interviews.”
- Be ready to talk about AI in your work. Many interviewers now ask how you use AI tools. See how to explain your experience with AI tools.
Your rights
Ask how your application will be assessed, whether automated tools are involved, and how to request an accommodation if a format doesn’t work for you.
How employers can use AI in recruiting responsibly
- Start from job-related criteria. Define what success in the role looks like, then use tools that measure those things, not proxies.
- Keep humans in the decision. Use AI to organize, summarize and flag, with people reviewing and deciding, especially on rejections.
- Audit for bias before and during use, by group, and act on the results. Where the law requires it (as in New York City), publish the summary.
- Tell candidates what’s automated, what’s assessed, and how to ask for accommodations or an alternative.
- Avoid emotion recognition and similar inferences from faces or voices: they’re hard to justify as job-related, and the EU bans emotion recognition in the workplace except for medical or safety reasons.
- Ask vendors hard questions: what data the model was trained on, how it’s validated, what audit results exist, how long data is kept and who can access it.
- Use structured interviews and scorecards so human decisions are consistent too. See our interview rubric and scorecard guide.
Where hiring is heading
Expect more structured, skills-based assessment (work samples and job-specific questions), more transparency requirements, more identity and integrity checks in remote interviews as AI-assisted cheating spreads, and continued emphasis on human judgment for final decisions. For candidates, the skills that stand out stay the same: clear communication, specific evidence, and good judgment.
Frequently asked questions
How is AI used in hiring?
Is it legal to use AI in hiring?
How do I pass an AI resume screen?
How should I prepare for an AI video interview?
Can I use AI during a job interview?
What do candidates think about AI in hiring?
Sources
- NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDT). Read on 2 October 2026.
- EU Artificial Intelligence Act, Annex III: High-Risk AI Systems and Article 5: Prohibited AI Practices. Read on 2 October 2026.
- Pew Research Center, AI in Hiring and Evaluating Workers: What Americans Think (20 April 2023). Read on 2 October 2026.
- Google Careers, Interview tips. Read on 2 October 2026.
