Two kinds of AI interview
| Conversational AI interview | One-way video interview | |
|---|---|---|
| Who asks | An AI interviewer, out loud | Recorded or written prompts |
| Follow-up questions | Yes, based on your answers | No, the questions are fixed |
| Typical length | About 20 minutes | Depends on the number of questions |
| What the employer gets | A transcript and an evaluation | Your recorded answers, sometimes with scoring |
| Examples | Mercor, micro1 | HireVue |
This page covers the conversational kind. For recorded interviews, read HireVue and one-way video interviews.
What happens in a Mercor AI interview
Mercor's help pages describe the format:
- Length: most interviews take about 20 minutes, though some are shorter or longer.
- Questions: role-specific. Some go deep on your past experience, others test language or reasoning skills.
- Output: the AI interviewer produces a transcript of your answers and an evaluation of your performance.
- Screen sharing: some interviews require it, and only full-screen sharing is supported.
- Retakes: up to three attempts in total for a given interview, counted across all your applications.
- Setup: a recent Chrome, Edge or Safari, a working camera and microphone, a stable connection and a quiet room. Headphones and an external microphone are recommended.
Because retakes are counted across applications, treat your first attempt as the real one.
micro1 and its AI interviewer, Zara
micro1's AI recruiter, Zara, runs conversational interviews tailored to the role, covering technical and interpersonal skills, and writes a structured evaluation afterwards. micro1 has published a paper describing the system, which also offers candidates practice interviews and feedback. If a practice interview is offered, take it: it is the best way to hear how the AI interviewer sounds and paces its questions.
What the AI interviewer listens for
Platforms do not publish their scoring, but the format tells you a lot. The questions come from the role and your resume, and the evaluation is built from a transcript. That rewards:
- Answering the question asked. Start with a one-sentence answer, then support it.
- Specifics. Name the project, your role in it, the tools and a number: "cut query time from 9 seconds to 400 milliseconds" beats "improved performance".
- Depth on your own claims. If your resume says you led a migration, expect to be asked how, why and what went wrong.
- Clear audio. A transcript is only as good as what the microphone caught, which is why the platforms recommend headphones and a quiet room.
- Structure. For questions about the past, the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) keeps an answer complete without rambling.
How to prepare, step by step
- Read the role closely. List the five skills it asks for most, and match each to one example from your work.
- Re-read your resume as an interviewer would. Every line can become a question. Be ready to go two levels deeper on each project.
- Build a story bank. Six to eight STAR stories covering leadership, conflict, failure, teamwork, ambiguity and a result you are proud of. See AI for behavioral interviews for how.
- Practise out loud, with a timer. Aim for answers of one to two minutes. A general chatbot can play the interviewer; see ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for interviews for prompts that work.
- Set up the room the day before. Test the browser, camera, microphone and headphones, and close anything that makes noise or pops up.
- Take any practice round on offer. Then do the real one when you are fresh.
During the interview
- Take a breath before answering. A two-second pause reads better in a transcript than a false start.
- If a question is unclear, say how you understand it, then answer that.
- Keep each answer to one main example rather than three thin ones.
- If you are asked to share your screen, share the full screen and close everything you do not need.
- Speak naturally. Reading a prepared script tends to sound flat, and follow-up questions will take you off it anyway.
Which AI tools are allowed?
Read each platform's rules, because they differ and they are specific. Mercor, for example, allows grammar and wording checks but asks candidates not to use large language models to compose their responses, rate model responses, generate rationales or explanations, or evaluate code. Most employers and assessment platforms prohibit outside help during an interview altogether, and breaking those rules can cost you the role.
Using AI to prepare is a different matter, and generally fine: researching the company, drafting your stories and running mock interviews.
Check the rules first
Most employers and assessment platforms prohibit outside help in their terms. Solvro keeps its window out of screen captures, but no tool can promise it will never be noticed, and breaking those rules can cost you an offer. Decide for yourself whether that risk is worth taking.
Where Solvro fits
Solvro is a desktop assistant built for live interviews and online assessments. It hears the question through system audio, reads the screen with one shortcut and writes an answer from your resume and the job description, using Gemini 3.7 Flash, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Opus 5 and Claude Fable 5. Whether you may use it depends on the rules of each interview, so read them first. For a rehearsal, run Interview mode while a friend asks the questions from your target role, and compare its structure with your own answers.
Competitor plans, prices and features are summarised from public product pages and reviews and change often; check each vendor’s own site before you buy. Product names are trademarks of their owners. Solvro is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
Frequently asked questions
Mercor says most of its AI interviews take about 20 minutes, though some are shorter or longer. The questions are specific to the role and often go deep on your past experience.
Mercor allows up to three attempts in total for a given interview, counted across all your applications, so treat the first attempt as the real one.
Check the platform's rules. Mercor allows grammar and wording checks but asks candidates not to use large language models to compose their responses. Most employers prohibit outside help during interviews.
Answer the question asked in one sentence, then support it with a specific example and a number. Know every line of your resume in depth, practise out loud with a timer, and test your camera, microphone and headphones the day before.
Zara is micro1's AI recruiter. It runs conversational interviews tailored to the role, covering technical and interpersonal skills, and writes a structured evaluation afterwards.