Job seekers across the US are starting to encounter AI interviewers

When Ms. Jennifer Dunn, 54, landed an interview in June through a recruiting firm for a vice-president of marketing job, she looked forward to talking to someone about the role and learning more about the potential employer.

- Natalie Rocha

SAN FRANCISCO — When Ms. Jennifer Dunn, 54, landed an interview in June through a recruiting firm for a vice-president of marketing job, she looked forward to talking to someone about the role and learning more about the potential employer.

Instead, a virtual artificial intelligence (AI) recruiter named Alex sent her a text message to schedule the interview. And when Ms. Dunn got on the phone at the appointed time for the meeting, Alex was waiting to talk to her.

"Are you a human?" she asked.

"No, I'm not a human," Alex replied. "But I'm here to make the interview process smoother."

For the next 20 minutes, Ms. Dunn answered Alex's questions about her qualifications — though Alex could not answer most of her questions about the job. Even though Alex had a friendly tone, the conversation "felt hollow," she said. In the end, she hung up before finishing the interview.

You might have thought AI was coming for your job. But first it is coming for your job interviewer.

Job seekers across the US are starting to encounter faceless voices and avatars backed by AI in their interviews. These autonomous interviewers are part of a wave of "agentic AI," where AI agents are directed to act on their own to generate real-time conversations and build on responses.