How Do AI Interviews Work? (For Employers and Candidates)

TLDR

• With Tracy AI Interviewer the employer sets an interview up once and every applicant is interviewed when they click the link, at any hour, with no scheduling. It can read the CV and tailor questions to it, and each follow-up depends on the answer before it.
• The employer then reviews one result per person. Every point links to the moment in the recording, and integrity signals come with the evidence behind them. Tracy does not reject anyone.
• People are told about the recording before it starts. Whether an AI is running it should be said earlier, in the invitation.

Fact-checked on 4 Nov 2026 against Tracy's own pages, the survey report and the bill texts. Sources are listed at the end.

An AI interview is a job interview in which software asks the questions. The rest of this page follows one interview from both sides: what the employer does before and after, and what the candidate sees in between. The employer side uses Tracy AI Interviewer as the example, because its steps are published. If you want a definition first, start with what an AI interviewer is.

For employers: setup, questions, result

Setup

You start from the job description or your own brief, and Tracy drafts questions that you can edit or replace with your own. When you set up from ChatGPT, nothing is created until you approve the draft. With CV check on, Tracy also reads each candidate's CV and asks 3 to 5 questions tailored to it and the role's must-haves.

Each interview is a two-way video interview in one language, which you choose at setup.

The interview

You send a personal invite, publish an apply page, or let your own system hand the person a link. Each candidate starts from the link in a browser at any hour, so nobody waits for a slot and a recruiter does not need to be present. Tracy listens to what was said and each follow-up depends on the answer before it, so a vague answer gets a sharper question. It waits for the end of a thought before it speaks, with longer pauses allowed on hard technical questions. Its typical response time is under one second, which is Tracy's own figure. For a closer look at the first-round shape, see how an AI screening interview works.

The result

Each interview ends in a written assessment for every question, with its reasoning, next to a transcript timed to the recording. A tab switch or an external screen is flagged against the recording, and a person reviews it. Tracy also has API and MCP connections for teams that want to set up interviews and read results from the tools they already use. AI interview reports explains what a reviewer should look for in one.

The decision

Tracy does not reject anyone: a person decides. To keep that true in your process, decide in advance who reads the results and what they are allowed to conclude from them.

For candidates: what to expect

For a candidate who has been sent an AI interview, this is what a Tracy interview looks like.

• You get a link. You open it in a browser. There is nothing to install.
• You choose the moment. You start when you click the link, at any hour, so there is no call to schedule.
• You are told about recording. People are told about the recording before it starts.
• It is a video interview. You talk to the interviewer, and a microphone check runs before the first question.
• Expect follow-ups. A vague answer gets a sharper question, such as how much faster something was and what it cost you. Concrete detail helps; a rehearsed summary invites another question.

You can also ask the interviewer questions about the process.

Ask the employer who reads your answers and who decides. With Tracy the interview does not reject anyone: a person decides.

Disclosure: what candidates are told

In Greenhouse's 2026 Candidate AI Interview Report, 70% of US candidates who had been evaluated by AI said it had not been clearly disclosed before their most recent AI interview. That is a vendor survey of what candidates recall, from Greenhouse, which sells hiring software including Voice AI interviews. It is not a measure of how often employers fail to disclose. The report prints the question ("Before your most recent AI interview, were you told upfront that AI would evaluate you?") but not its field dates. It surveyed 2,950 active job seekers in five countries, 1,200 of them in the US, and does not print the size of the group of US candidates who had an AI evaluation, which is the base of the 70%.

Employers should say it in the invitation. With Tracy, people are told about the recording before it starts. The invitation is where to say that an AI interviewer runs the conversation, what it will ask about and who reads the result.

Some laws now ask for notice. The Illinois HB 3773 (Public Act 103-0804) bill status records an effective date of 1 January 2026, and its synopsis makes it a civil rights violation for an employer to use artificial intelligence that has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination on the basis of protected classes, or to fail to provide notice to an employee that the employer is using artificial intelligence. The synopsis says "employee"; we read an archived copy of the bill page, not the act, so check whether applicants are covered. Colorado's SB 26-189, as enacted, applies to consequential decisions made on or after 1 January 2027 (a few provisions take effect on passage); before using covered automated decision-making technology to materially influence an employment decision, an employer must give the person a clear and conspicuous notice (a prominent public notice at points of interaction is one way to do it), and must later explain the technology's role if the outcome is adverse. These are explanations of the statutes, not legal advice; check how they apply to you.

Where AI interviews fall short

• Someone who has not agreed to be recorded. Tracy is not for that.
• The final call. An interview result is evidence for a decision, and a person makes the decision.
• A role that needs a person in the room. If the first conversation is about rapport, run it yourself.

When you compare an AI interview with a person doing the same job, AI interview vs human interview sets out what each does well.

What it costs

For employers: the first 3 results are free, then $7 per credit, charged per started 20 minutes when the result is ready. A session where nobody answers is never charged. If you are weighing tools on price, AI interview cost sets the models side by side.

Questions

Try it free and take a practice interview yourself before you invite anyone, or book a demo to see a finished result.

Sources

All sources retrieved 4 Nov 2026.

• Tracy AI Interviewer, Home page: two-way video, follow-ups, typical response time, "You read the words, then you decide", integrity signals, "Teams can also connect through the API".
• Tracy AI Interviewer, Pricing: free results, $7 per credit, billing per started 20 minutes, no-answer sessions never charged, Enterprise with API and MCP connections.
• Tracy AI Interviewer, Product: questions drafted from a brief, CV check, three ways in, one interview language chosen at setup, no install, people told about the recording before it starts, recorded on both sides with a transcript timed to the recording, follow-ups, microphone check, "Tracy does not reject anyone. A person decides.".
• Tracy AI Interviewer, Hiring at volume: each applicant starts when they click the link, at any hour, with no recruiter and no calendar.
• Tracy AI Interviewer, ChatGPT help: the interview draft is approved before it is created.
• Greenhouse, 2026 Candidate AI Interview Report: the 70% figure, US candidates who experienced AI evaluation.
• Greenhouse, 2026 Candidate AI Interview Report, full PDF: the printed question wording and the sample (2,950 job seekers, 1,200 in the US).
• Greenhouse, Voice AI interviewing: Greenhouse sells Voice AI, a structured voice interview.
• Colorado General Assembly, SB 26-189 as enacted: clear and conspicuous notice before covered automated decision-making technology materially influences a consequential decision (section 6-1-1704), the 1 January 2027 effective date and applicability, provisions that take effect on passage.
• Illinois General Assembly, HB 3773 bill status: Public Act 103-0804, effective 1 January 2026, synopsis (archived copy of ilga.gov).