TLDR
- Tracy AI Interviewer interviews everyone who applies, not a shortlist: each person starts when they click the link, at any hour, with no scheduling. It can read each CV and tailor questions to it, and it follows up on what people actually said.
- A result comes with the video recording, a transcript timed to it, a written assessment per question with its reasoning, and integrity signals marked on the timeline. You read the words, then you decide.
- The steps are: set the questions, invite people, let them join when it suits them, read one result per person. API and MCP connections let a team run it from the tools it already uses.
Fact-checked on 4 Nov 2026 against Tracy's own pages and the original survey release. Sources are listed at the end.
An AI screening interview is a first-round conversation that software runs, so that every applicant gets one instead of only the few a recruiter has time to call. This guide walks through what happens from invite to report, using Tracy AI Interviewer as the worked example, and says what a good first round has to find out.
Why teams move the first round to an AI interviewer
In a Robert Half survey fielded in November 2025, 67% of US HR leaders said reviewing AI-generated applications had slowed their hiring. The release says the survey has responses from more than 2,000 US hiring managers and does not break out the group behind the 67%, so read it as the release's own wording. It reports how leaders see their hiring; it does not measure delay or cover interviews. When more applications arrive than a team can talk to, most applicants never get a conversation.
A screening interview moves the conversation itself to the start, so everyone who applies can be asked the same base questions. If you are still deciding how to cut a long list, how to screen candidates when there are too many applicants covers the options before the interview.
What a first round has to find out
Before you pick a tool, write down what the first round is for. A good one finds out three things:
- Whether the person has done the work the role needs, in enough detail that you can tell.
- Whether they can explain their own decisions as well as name them.
- Whether they want the job as described.
A form collects a claim. A conversation can ask a second question when the first answer is vague, and with Tracy it can start from the CV: with CV check on, it asks 3 to 5 questions tailored to the CV and the role's must-haves, on top of the role's own questions. The difference between one-way and two-way video interviews also matters here.
How a first round runs with Tracy
1. Set the goal and the questions
Start from the job description or your own brief and Tracy drafts the questions. You can edit them, replace them with your own, and set the style from quick to deep and from behavioural to technical. When you set up from ChatGPT, nothing is created until you approve the draft, so you read it, ask for changes and say yes when it is right.
Write the questions around the must-haves of the role. Keep the list short enough that a candidate can answer each one properly.
2. Choose the language
Each interview is a two-way video interview in one language, which you choose at setup. A microphone check runs before the first question.
3. Invite people
There are three ways in: send a personal invite link, publish an apply page, or let your own system ask for an interview and hand the person the link. Candidates have nothing to install and start when it suits them.
People are told about the recording before it starts. Tracy is not for talking to someone who has not agreed to be recorded. On top of that notice, tell candidates in the invitation that an AI interviewer runs the conversation, so they hear it before they click. How AI interviews work covers what candidates see.
4. The conversation
Tracy runs a two-way video conversation. Its home page gives a typical response time under one second, which is Tracy's own figure. Tracy listens for what was said and asks for the missing detail, and each follow-up depends on the answer before it. A vague answer gets a sharper question, and people can ask questions about the process. It waits for the end of a thought before it speaks, with longer pauses allowed on hard questions, so it does not cut candidates off. Each interview is its own session that starts on click, so applicants do not queue for a slot and a recruiter does not need to be present; a candidate who drops can rejoin the same session within 10 minutes.
Tracy's product page shows a follow-up in an example from its site, which uses invented people:
Tracy: Walk me through the index you chose for the ledger table. Nina: A B-tree on account and date. Reads were the bottleneck. Tracy (follow-up): How much faster were reads, and what did it cost you on writes? Nina: About four times faster on reads. Writes slowed by a fifth.
The follow-up asks for a number and a cost, which a vague first answer would not have given.
5. Read the result
Each interview ends in a result you can check against the recording. It holds a written assessment for each question with its reasoning, the video with a transcript timed to it, and integrity signals such as tab switching, leaving fullscreen or an external screen, marked on the recording timeline for you to review. A signal marks a place to look. How to read many of them quickly is the subject of AI interview reports.
Tracy does not reject anyone: a person decides. Tracy has API and MCP connections, so a team can set up interviews, invite people and read results from tools it already uses, and enterprise teams can ask for a customised setup.
What it costs
The first 3 results are free. After that, a credit is $7 and credits never expire. Billing is 1 credit per started 20 minutes of interview, so a 34-minute interview is 2 credits. You pay for interviews that produced a result, and a session with no answers is never charged. There are no seats; you pay per result. No card is needed to start.
Plan for volume before you send a public link: check your credit balance against the number of people you expect.
Where an AI screening interview is the wrong tool
- A person has not agreed to be recorded. Tracy records and transcribes every interview, so it does not fit.
- The decision needs a human relationship. A first round gathers evidence; it does not replace the conversation where a hiring manager and a candidate decide whether they want to work together.
- You have a handful of applicants. If you can speak with everyone yourself, you may not need a tool.
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating the result as a verdict. The assessment tells you what people said. Someone on your team still decides.
- Asking too many questions. Each answer gets thinner, and the follow-ups have less room.
- Skipping the preview. Take the interview yourself first, so you know what your candidates will go through.
- Running out of credits mid-campaign. Check the balance before a large send, so applicants you wanted are not left waiting.
For the next step, AI behavioral interviews shows how follow-ups test a rehearsed story.
Questions
What is an AI screening interview?
Does an AI screening interview decide who gets hired?
Do candidates need to install anything?
How is a screening interview different from a one-way video interview?
What does a screening interview cost with Tracy?
What should I check before using one?
Try it free and interview your first applicants at no cost, or book a demo to see a full report first.
Sources
All sources retrieved 4 Nov 2026.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, Home page: the example follow-up from the site (invented people), typical response time, "You read the words, then you decide", integrity signals, "Teams can also connect through the API", first 3 results free.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, Pricing: $7 per credit, billing per started 20 minutes, no-answer sessions never charged, no seats, no card, Enterprise with a customised setup and API and MCP connections.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, Product: questions drafted from a brief, CV check, three ways in, no install, people told about the recording before it starts, two-way video interview, transcript timed to the recording, follow-ups, assessment per question, integrity signals, "Tracy does not reject anyone. A person decides.", API and MCP.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, Hiring at volume: everyone who applies starts on click at any hour with no recruiter and no calendar, rejoin within 10 minutes.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, ChatGPT help: the interview draft is reviewed and approved before it is created.
- Robert Half, Survey: 67% of HR leaders report AI-generated applications are slowing hiring, 10 March 2026: the 67% figure, a November 2025 survey; the release reports it for US HR leaders and says the survey has responses from more than 2,000 US hiring managers.