How to Prepare for an AI-Enhanced Interview in the UK

January 7, 2026

Artificial intelligence is increasingly showing up in interviews, leading to questions from candidates about how they can prepare for this. The thought of speaking to a chatbot can be quite daunting – what if you are misunderstood? Or what if a huge part of your appeal is your ability to build rapport with people?

These are all valid questions, and ones that we will attempt to answer today. Whether you are facing an AI-powered chatbot at the early stages of an interview, or you’re facing a full AI video interview, we’re sharing some tips on what is happening behind the scenes so that you can better prepare.

How do AI interviews work?

There are lots of different types of AI interviews, including application chatbots and AI interview agents. A chat bot has a script to follow that is trying to extract the information they need to be able to take your application to the next stage. An AI interview agent also has a script to follow, and the idea is to ask the questions that you might face in a real interview setting.

This information is delivered to the recruiter as a report that will outline things like your sentiment, use of keywords they are looking for, and how confidently you answered the questions. This information is often used to help narrow down a wider pool of candidates before inviting some for an in-person interview. 

How can you make a good impression with an AI interview?

You should prepare as you would for any other interview, making sure that you know your CV back to front and that you have prepared answers for common interview questions. If you are facing an AI video interview, you should also be aware that your perceived mood and the sentiment of your answers may be assessed. 

This could mean that taking an overly negative approach to answers could be flagged. A perceived lack of confidence in your delivery is also likely to be detected. Just like with a regular face-to-face interview, you should also be wary about long-winded answers.

It might be difficult to get clarification on questions, so answer to the best of your ability. The AI chatbot might not be able to deviate from its script too far.

Technical things to consider

If you have a technical issue while on a video call with an actual person, you’ll be able to explain, but this might be more difficult with an AI chatbot. It’s therefore essential that you have a quiet place with a strong internet connection. If you are disconnected, stay calm and try to reconnect. 

If you are unable to do so, contact the company to let them know you’ll need to reschedule. Since you’re not meeting with a real person, you aren’t wasting any time, but it might be a time-sensitive hiring process, so don’t wait around to try to reschedule.

The next steps

AI interviews are commonly used to interview a large cohort of candidates, meaning that you’re more likely to be offered an AI interview. However, after the AI stage, the chances of being invited for an in-person interview is lower, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t get a callback for every interview.

Try to keep AI interviews in perspective – you want to make a good impression, but you don’t want to spend hours and hours preparing. Save the more in-depth preparation for in-person interviews when you’ll be able to build rapport with the interview panel. Bear in mind that artificial intelligence might be present in all interviews in some capacity, as it is becoming more common to have an AI agent provide a transcript and analysis of the meeting.