Fact-checked on 4 Nov 2026 against Tracy's public pages and the survey listed in Sources.
TLDR
- Tracy AI Interviewer interviews every applicant who clicks the link, at any hour with no scheduling, reads each CV to tailor questions and follows up on what each person says, so you cut on evidence instead of at the CV.
- Four ways to screen at volume: a CV filter, phone screens, one-way video or forms, and an AI two-way interview. Each has a size where it is enough.
- Eight questions to put to any tool before you buy are listed below.
When hundreds of people apply for hourly, staffing or high-volume roles, the first round is where the time goes. A recruiter cannot phone everyone, so most teams cut at the CV and call whoever is left. Tracy's volume-hiring page describes the result: recruiters call a fraction of the applicants, so the shortlist depends on who applied first.
Why does shortlisting by CV lose people?
A CV is a good first filter for requirements that are facts: a licence, a location, a start date. It is a weak filter for how well someone can do the work, because it shows what a person chose to write down. Two applicants with the same CV can answer the same question very differently, and the CV does not tell you which one you are looking at.
Volume makes it worse. Robert Half reported that in a survey fielded in November 2025, 67% of US HR leaders said reviewing AI-generated applications had slowed their hiring. The survey measured opinion across more than 2,000 US hiring managers, the exact question is not published, and it is about reviewing applications, not about screening interviews. The pressure is plain: more applications and the same recruiter hours.
When the pile is too big, teams cut it by rule of thumb: keywords, school names, the first fifty received. Each of those rules drops some people who could have done the job, and nobody finds out who. A first round that gives each applicant a real conversation removes the need to guess.
What are the four ways to screen at volume?
| Method | What every applicant gets | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|
| CV filter | Nothing: a person reads the CV, or a rule filters it. | Shows what was written, not how the person thinks. Rules drop people silently. |
| Phone screens | A short call with a recruiter. | A recruiter can call only a fraction of a large pile, and scheduling takes time. |
| One-way video or forms | The same fixed questions, answered when convenient. | No follow-up, so a vague answer stays vague. Someone still has to watch or read every response. |
| AI two-way interview | A conversation with an interviewer that listens and asks follow-ups. | Needs applicants who agree to be recorded, and a person still reviews the evidence and decides. |
These are our descriptions of how each method usually works, not a ranking. Most teams combine them: a knockout form for hard requirements first, then one conversation method for everyone who passes. For a longer comparison of the interview formats, see one-way versus two-way video interviews and how to screen candidates.
When is a simpler method enough?
You do not need an interview tool for every hiring problem.
- A small pool. If a recruiter can call every applicant in a day or two, phone screens are fine and a tool adds setup for little gain.
- Hard requirements only. If the decision comes down to a licence, a shift pattern or the right to work, a short form with knockout questions answers it faster than any interview.
- A fixed script and no judgement needed. If you need the same five factual answers from everyone, a one-way video or a form collects them, and a person can skim the results.
- A role where the test is doing the work. For a trade or a physical skill, a short practical test tells you more than any conversation.
The simple methods start to fail when the pile is large, the answers need to be read for meaning, and the people cut at the CV are the ones you would have wanted to hear from.
What should you check in any screening tool?
Put these eight questions to any vendor, Tracy included.
- Every applicant is interviewed, not a sample. Ask what happens to applicant number 400.
- Any hour, no scheduling. Applicants for hourly work often apply in the evening or at the weekend.
- Questions that fit the role. Can you start from the job description, edit the questions and bring your own?
- Follow-ups. Does the next question depend on the last answer, or is it a fixed list read out?
- Evidence a reviewer can check. Is there a recording, a transcript tied to it, and a written reason for each assessment?
- Integrity signals as signals. Any signal of looking away or switching tabs is a prompt for a person to look, not proof of anything.
- Connection to your stack. Can it create and read interviews from the tools your team already uses, by API or MCP?
- A price model you can predict. Per result, per seat or per month, and what is charged when an applicant does not show up.
For a market view of vendors against these points, see AI interview tools for high-volume hiring. To compare Tracy with one named alternative, see Tracy vs HeyMilo.
How does Tracy AI Interviewer screen hundreds of applicants?
Tracy AI Interviewer runs a two-way video interview for each applicant on its own. Taking the eight questions in order:
- Every applicant, any hour. Each applicant starts when they click the link, at any hour, with no recruiter and no calendar. Tracy's page describes the same depth for applicant one and applicant five hundred. We write this as volume over a hiring round, and we do not give a figure for how many interviews can run at once.
- Questions from the job description. Tracy drafts questions from the job description or your brief. You can edit them, replace them with your own and set the style from quick to deep and from behavioural to technical.
- A CV check. Tracy can read each CV and add 3 to 5 questions tailored to it and to the job's must-have requirements, on top of your questions.
- Follow-ups that wait. Each follow-up depends on the answer before it. Tracy waits for the end of a thought before it speaks, with longer pauses allowed on hard questions, so an applicant who is thinking is not cut off. For technical roles Tracy can introduce a coding task and probe the trade-offs.
- Evidence to check. Both sides are recorded, with a transcript timed to the recording. Each question gets a written assessment with the reasoning behind it, so a reviewer reads the applicant's own words and decides. Our guide to AI interview reports shows what to expect.
- Integrity signals. Tracy records signals such as where the applicant looked, response timing, tab switches, leaving fullscreen and an external screen, and gives the reviewer the evidence. A signal is not a verdict, and our post on AI interview cheating detection explains the limits.
- Your stack. Tracy connects through an API and an MCP server, so interviews can be created and read from tools a team already uses. You can start an interview from a personal invite link, an apply page or your own system. Tracy with Workable is one worked example, and enterprise teams can ask for a customised setup.
- Price model. You pay for results, not seats. Your first 3 results are free, then it is $7 per credit, one credit per started 20 minutes. A session with no answers is never charged. Enterprise pricing is set to your volume. See AI interview cost for how prices compare across tools.
The interview is recorded on both sides, and Tracy does not reject anyone: a person decides. For how an interview runs from the applicant's side, read how AI interviews work, and for the wider category, AI screening interviews.
What does a Tracy setup look like in four steps?
This example is a high-volume role, written by us as an illustration, not a customer story. It follows the steps on Tracy's volume-hiring page.
- Start from the job description. Paste the posting or a short brief for a warehouse team lead. Tracy drafts the questions. Edit them, add two of your own about shift handling, and turn on CV check so each applicant also gets 3 to 5 questions from their own CV.
- Invite everyone, or link from your apply page. Send the link to every applicant, or put it on the apply page so people start when they are ready. If an applicant's connection drops, they can rejoin within 10 minutes, and a reminder goes out after a day. What the applicant sees, and how they can prepare, is in How to prepare for an AI interview.
- Let applicants interview when they choose. Evening and weekend applicants start without waiting for a slot. Nobody on your team joins the call.
- Read results as they land. Open each result: an assessment per question, the transcript and the recording behind it, and any integrity signals with their evidence. Review the interviews in the order you like, then decide who moves on.
Start with the three free results on a real role before you commit to a full round.
Where is Tracy the wrong tool?
- Applicants who have not agreed to be recorded. Tracy runs recorded video interviews, and it is not for talking to someone who has not agreed to be recorded. Use a call.
- A short list of hard requirements. If a form can decide, a form is cheaper and quicker.
- A small pool you can phone yourself. A recruiter who can call everyone in two days gains little from a tool.
- A hands-on skill test. If the proof is doing the work, set a practical task and use the interview for the conversation about it.
- A phone line or text chat. Tracy is a video interview, not a phone line or a text chatbot.
- A final decision. Tracy writes up what people said, and the decision stays with you.
Questions
Can you screen hundreds of applicants without cutting at the CV?
What is the fastest way to screen high-volume applicants?
Is it fair to shortlist by CV when hundreds apply?
What should I check before choosing a screening tool for volume?
When is Tracy not the right tool for screening?
Try it free on a role with hundreds of applicants, or book a demo.
Sources
All sources retrieved 4 Nov 2026.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, Hiring at volume page: interviews started on click at any hour, no calendar, the volume problem, CV check, rejoin and reminder, results per question, the same depth for each applicant.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, product page: setup from a brief, three ways to start, two-way video, follow-ups that wait, coding task with a probe, assessment per question, integrity signals, API and MCP.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, home page: interviews that follow up in the person's field, evidence behind each result.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, pricing: 3 free results, $7 per credit per started 20 minutes, no seats, no-answer session not charged, enterprise set to volume with API and MCP.
- Tracy AI Interviewer, Connect page: MCP server address and the AI apps and ATS guides.
- Robert Half, Survey: 67% of HR leaders report AI-generated applications are slowing hiring, 10 Mar 2026: survey of more than 2,000 US hiring managers, fielded November 2025; the exact question is not published.