Is it cheating? AI use during job interviews sparks debate over whether to restrict emerging tools

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As artificial intelligence has rapidly grown into something that can make us better at our jobs, there’s ongoing debate over whether we should be using AI to actually land those jobs.

The subject came up again last week in a new report from Business Insider detailing how Amazon is cracking down on the use of AI tools such as coding assistants that could give candidates an edge in job interviews.

Navigating this restriction is tricky for Amazon — and the industry at large. Tech companies are actively developing AI and encouraging its use for countless tasks, and the tech is already accepted in many aspects of the job search process, from resume building to interview prep.

It’s all reminiscent of a similar debate happening in education around whether students are cheating by using generative AI.

Whether or not companies will fully accept AI use during interviews, it’s clearly already happening — even when there are instructions against its use. 

“A tech leader recently told me they suspect that 80% of their candidates use LLMs on top-of-funnel code tests — despite being explicitly told not to,” said Jeff Spector, co-founder and president of Karat, a Seattle startup that helps companies conduct technical interviews.

Wendy Hellar, a staffing and talent management veteran in Seattle, said she had one client take down remote roles because every interview involved candidates using AI for the technical coding section. 

But some companies encourage the use of AI in such scenarios.

Greg Gottesman, co-founder and managing director at Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs, said he wants to hire people who are “obsessed with these new AI tools.”

“The truth is, I want people who are looking to radically enhance their skills using AI,” he said. “We are small enough that we can do in-person interviews, so we can judge other aspects of an interviewee beyond just AI.”

PSL Managing Director T.A. McCann echoed that sentiment, saying he wants people who are leveraging every tool they can. 

“The best people lean into this kind of thing,” McCann said. “And, let’s say we make a mistake. It will be apparent very quickly and then what’s the point of faking it?”

Spector said Karat is starting to see companies that are comfortable with job candidates using AI, and early adopters are not only asking Karat to enable AI usage, but also asking for a measure of the candidate’s proficiency using AI.

“Our position is that interviews should reflect the competencies required on the job,” Spector said. “As AI’s role in software development grows, interviews will need to evolve … and focus on the underlying skills that make strong software engineers: problem-solving, systems thinking, handling edge cases.”

Hellar, chief operating officer at Seattle’s Prime Team Partners, said she has empathy for job seekers who are trying to set themselves apart and get to the next interview round. But engineering leaders want to know if someone can do the work unprompted or unsupported, with the proper foundational skill set.

“I think a lot of companies, especially startups, are really looking for authentic voices,” Hellar said. “They want to know who you are as a person. Those small teams that work together so closely do not want to hire a robot.”

Hiring managers can often spot AI-generated answers, Hellar said, because they appear “too clean, too perfect,” lacking the typical clarifications and problem-solving process of a human coder.

To counter AI reliance, some companies are shifting back to on-site interviews where they can engage candidates in discussion and probe their understanding, said Hellar. 

“Can people have that conversation independently, without a tool?” she said. 

Amazon has issued guidelines with internal recruiters at the company that say job applicants can be disqualified from the hiring process if they are found to have used an AI tool during job interviews, according to Business Insider.

In a statement to GeekWire, Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan said that the company prioritizes ensuring that candidates hold a high bar for appropriate technical competencies, and when applicable candidates must acknowledge that they won’t use unauthorized tools, like GenAI, to support them during the interview or assessment process.

Job seekers in Amazon’s recruiting process should try to use AI where they can, advised Nick Dimitrov, a former Amazon “Bar Raiser” who started his own company called Amazon Bound to help job seekers prep for the interview process at the tech giant.

“In technical/coding tests, candidates would be foolish not to use AI help,” he said. “And using AI help on these tests doesn’t mean you’re cheating — Amazon understands that, and some Amazon teams increasingly devise their Online Assessment questions knowing that people use AI. This helps Amazon screen for people who are AI proficient.”

AI agents are also exceptionally good at simulating interview questions at any stage of the Amazon interview process, Dimitrov said, and not using these tools would put candidates at a disadvantage. However, he said using AI to help answer Amazon’s open-ended interview questions frequently generates stilted, academic, and not specific enough answers.

He equates using AI during a live interview to the way people would previously glue printed cheat sheets on their walls or toggle between computer screens to read notes — a subject he covered in this video.

“This is a big no-no that would get you instantly ‘no-hired,’” Dimitrov said.

Whether AI usage remains a red flag or becomes a must-have skill may ultimately depend on the job — and who’s doing the hiring.