Rise
HireVue began offering recorded video interviews in the 2000s. By the mid-2010s it was using machine learning to analyze candidates' words, voices, and facial expressions, and the "AI interview" went mainstream. Korean conglomerates and public institutions began adopting AI assessments around 2018. Remote hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic spread them to hundreds of companies.
How it works
Candidates log in from home and check their camera and microphone. They then work through a self-introduction, personality items, situational questions, and short neuroscience-style games, such as rotating shapes, reading emotions, or remembering sequences. Structured follow-up questions come last. The software combines answer content, speech rate, vocal cues, and choice patterns into scores that human recruiters usually treat as one input among several. As with personality tests, consistency matters more than guessing the "right" answer.
Fairness and regulation
Critics argued that facial and vocal analysis could disadvantage people with disabilities or different cultural norms. HireVue dropped facial analysis in 2021. Illinois's 2020 Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act requires employers to give notice and get consent. The EU's 2024 AI Act lists hiring systems as high-risk AI. To prepare, fix your lighting and background noise, set the camera at eye level, and practice 60–90 second answers using the STAR method.
FAQ
- Is the AI the final decision-maker?
- Rarely. Most employers use the scores alongside résumés and other tests.
- Should I practice the games?
- Knowing the formats reduces anxiety, but heavy drilling isn't necessary.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act, 820 ILCS 42 (2020).
- Hickman, L., Bosch, N., Ng, V., Saef, R., Tay, L., & Woo, S. E. (2022). Automated video interview personality assessments. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(8), 1323–1351.
- European Union. (2024). Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), Annex III: employment as high-risk use.