AI interview: what it is and how to prepare for one
More and more first-round interviews are run by software instead of a person: an AI interviewer that talks to you, or a one-way video where you record answers to questions on screen. Here is what each kind is, who decides what happens next and how to prepare — with a page for every platform we have checked.
Free: 1 full practice interview a day, no card.
Colloqa makes an AI interview practice tool, so we have an interest here. We do not work with any of the platforms below. Facts about a specific platform are on its own page, each one linked to that platform's own documentation.
What an AI interview is
An AI interview is a job interview in which software, not a person, asks the questions — usually the first screening round. The employer, or the platform hiring for it, still decides who moves on: the software collects every candidate’s answers in the same format and sometimes scores them.
It is not the same thing as an AI mock interview. A mock interview is practice: an AI plays the interviewer so you can rehearse before a real interview of any kind, with a person or with software.
The kinds of AI interview you can meet
Your invitation says which one you are getting. They feel different and reward different preparation.
A conversation with an AI interviewer
An AI voice asks questions in real time, listens and asks follow-ups based on what you just said. micro1's Zara and Mercor's interviewer work like this, and HireVue now sells one too. Usually 20–40 minutes about your experience and skills.
A one-way video interview
Questions appear on screen; you get a short prep time and record each answer against a timer. Nobody follows up. HireVue's On Demand interview is the best-known example. The employer's team reviews the recordings, and some employers also use an algorithm to score them.
Written answers and assessments
Some screenings add typed answers, multiple-choice questions, coding tasks or game-based assessments next to — or instead of — the spoken part. The invitation lists each part and how long it takes.
AI interviews by platform
How each platform's interview works, from that platform's own pages: length, questions, retakes, practice options and how to prepare.
micro1 AI interview prep (Zara)
How micro1's Zara AI interview works (also used by Alignerr): format, length, questions, proctoring — and how to rehearse it out loud with AI follow-ups.
Mercor AI interview prep
How the Mercor AI interview works, from Mercor's own docs: length, questions, retakes, AI-use rules — and how to rehearse it out loud with AI follow-ups.
HireVue interview practice
How a HireVue interview works, from HireVue's own help pages: questions, timing, attempts, practice — and how to rehearse your answers out loud.
How to prepare for any AI interview
- Find out which kind it is. The invitation says whether it is a conversation, a recorded video or an assessment, how long it takes and when it is due. Prepare for that format, not for "AI" in general.
- Use the platform's own practice. micro1, Mercor and HireVue all offer practice questions or a practice interview. It is the only way to see the real screen and test your camera and microphone before it counts.
- Prepare stories, not scripts. Five or six real examples — a project, a problem, a conflict, a mistake, a result — each told in about two minutes: the situation, what you did, what happened.
- Say it out loud before it counts. Answers that sound fine in your head come out longer and vaguer when spoken. Rehearse them aloud, ideally with someone, or something, that asks "why?"
- Expect follow-ups in a conversation. An AI interviewer asks about what you just said, so a general answer earns "what exactly did you do?". Lead with specifics.
- Do not use another AI to answer. Platforms' own rules forbid it — Mercor's, for one, allows AI only for grammar and wording — and recordings are reviewed. The interview is about how you think.
- Set up like a real interview. A quiet room, light in front of you, a stable connection, camera and microphone tested, and a computer if the platform recommends one.
Practising for an AI interview with an AI
An AI interview is a spoken conversation with software, so the closest rehearsal is exactly that. Colloqa is an AI interviewer you practise with: it asks questions for your role or job posting out loud, follows up on what you say and gives feedback at the end. It is not any platform's interviewer and does not copy their questions or timers.
The free plan is 1 full session a day, no card, in 12 languages — practise in your own language first, then in the language of the interview.
Rehearse your next AI interview out loud: one full practice session a day is free.
Practise with an AI interviewerAI interviews: questions candidates ask
A job interview — usually the first screening round — in which software asks the questions instead of a person: either an AI interviewer that talks with you and follows up, or a one-way video where you record answers to questions on screen. The employer or hiring platform decides who moves on.
In a conversation, an AI voice asks about your experience and skills, listens and follows up for 20–40 minutes (micro1, Mercor). In a one-way video, questions appear on screen and you record timed answers with no follow-ups (HireVue On Demand). Either way you usually get practice questions first, and the answers go to the employer's or platform's review.
It depends on the platform. HireVue says the employer's people review the answers and make hiring decisions, and that recruiters make the final call with its AI Interviewer too; micro1 says human recruiters review the recording. Mercor describes its AI interview as its only screening method, evaluated by an AI-driven system. Each platform page has the details and sources.
micro1's Zara interview: 20–40 minutes, depending on how many skills are evaluated. Mercor: about 20 minutes for most interviews. HireVue On Demand: most take 20–30 minutes — HireVue suggests setting aside 45.
Find out which kind it is, take the platform's own practice questions, prepare five or six real stories you can tell in about two minutes each, and rehearse them out loud — ideally with an interviewer that asks follow-ups. Set up a quiet room and test your camera and microphone.
Not to answer. Platforms' rules forbid it — Mercor allows AI only for grammar and wording checks — and recordings are reviewed. Use AI before the interview, to practise, not during it.
No. An AI interview is a real screening round run by software. An AI mock interview is practice — an AI plays the interviewer so you can rehearse; Colloqa is one. Practising with one is a good way to prepare for the other.
No. Colloqa is an independent interview-practice tool. We describe each platform's interview from its own public pages so you can prepare; our AI interviewer is not theirs and our questions are not theirs.