Should You Allow Candidates to Use ChatGPT in Interviews?

TL;DR

ChatGPT and similar AI tools can:

• Accelerate problem solving

• Support brainstorming

• Help clarify concepts
  but they can also:

• Mask lack of genuine skill

• Enable coached answer recitation

• Facilitate proxy or off-camera support

So the question is not yes or no.
The real question is:

Under what conditions can AI use be allowed without weakening the signal of the interview?

The answer is to allow AI use only in transparent, constrained, declared ways, while evaluating reasoning, not just final answers.

Why This Decision Matters

If the policy is unclear:

• Recruiters appear inconsistent

• Candidates feel treated unfairly

• Managers rely on intuition instead of evidence

• Teams risk hiring people who cannot perform without AI assistance

This is a quality of hire and fairness issue, not just a hiring preference.

In a recent survey of verified professionals, 20% admitted to secretly using AI tools during interviews, while 55% said it has become the new norm.

The policy must reduce ambiguity.

Situations Where AI Use Is Acceptable

AI is useful when evaluating:

• Brainstorming ability

• Market scanning

• High-level architecture outlines

• Role-play scenarios for creativity-oriented roles

Allowing AI in these contexts can:

• Speed up ideation

• Reveal how candidates critique suggestions

• Show collaboration patterns

The key signal becomes:

How the candidate interacts with the AI
not
What the AI produces

Read more: Should Candidates Use AI During Interviews?

Situations Where AI Use Should Not Be Allowed

AI breaks the evaluation when the interview measures:

• Problem solving under real constraints

• Independent reasoning ability

• Coding implementation and debugging flow

• Architecture tradeoff thinking

• Personal ownership of past work

If AI is allowed here:

• You are measuring tool usage, not capability

This leads to bad hires who cannot perform independently.

The Principle for Setting Policy

Your policy should answer one question clearly:

Is this interview evaluating what the candidate knows
or how the candidate thinks?

If evaluating knowledge or experience ownership:

• AI should be restricted

• Reasoning checks must be applied

• Identity verification should run across sessions

If evaluating collaboration or creativity:

• AI can be allowed

• But usage must be declared

The Fair Use Policy Structure (Copy This Template)

Allowed

• Asking AI to summarize research

• Using AI to outline a system at a high level

• Brainstorming alternative approaches

• Generating clarifying questions

Not Allowed

• Generating full answers to interview questions

• Producing code during a coding technical round

• Using AI to narrate pre-scripted behavioral responses

• Receiving live coaching during an interview

Candidate Declaration

Candidates should say:

I am using AI for X.
I am not using it to generate final outputs.

This sets a fairness baseline.

What About Detection?

Sherlock AI enforces this policy automatically:

• Detects AI-generated narrative structure

• Monitors typing and editing patterns

• Flags background coaching behavior

• Confirms identity consistency across sessions

This ensures:

• Candidates who play fair are rewarded

• Teams avoid over-policing honest participants

How to Explain the Policy to Candidates (Script)

Use neutral tone:

We want to evaluate how you think and solve problems in real time.
You are welcome to use AI to brainstorm or structure your thoughts.
You may not use AI to generate full interview answers or code solutions.
If you use AI, we simply ask that you say so at the start.
This keeps the interview fair for everyone

No defensiveness.
No intimidation.
Clear expectations.

Conclusion

The question is not whether AI belongs in interviews.
It is how to let AI in without losing the signal of real skill.

The correct approach is:

• Allow AI for ideation

• Restrict AI for final answer production

• Evaluate reasoning and adaptability

• Verify identity and consistency

This preserves:

• Fairness

• Talent quality

• Audit safety