Can you use ChatGPT or AI in a job interview? When it's allowed, how to ask, and what to say

Key takeaways

• There is no single answer: the same company can allow AI in one round and ban it in the next.
• Anthropic, Google and ServiceNow: no AI in interviews unless they say so.
• Canva expects AI tools in its coding interviews. Meta's AI-enabled rounds allow only the assistant built into CoderPad.
• Online assessments, coding tests and proctored exams: never.
• Using AI to prepare (practising answers, reviewing your resume stories, researching the company) is fine, and several employers encourage it.

Can I use ChatGPT in an interview?

Only if the employer allows it for that round, and only after you have asked. “Interview” covers very different things: a 20-minute recruiter call, a live coding round, a take-home project, a system design discussion. Companies that publish a policy often treat these differently, and companies that publish nothing leave the decision to the recruiter and the interviewer.

So the useful question isn't “can I use AI?” but “is AI help allowed in this round, and which tools?” Ask it in writing before the interview, and ask again out loud at the start. If nobody says yes, the answer is no.

Most employers who say no give the same reason: they want to see how you think. Anthropic's guidance for live interviews says “no AI assistance unless we indicate otherwise”, and adds that it wants to see how candidates work through problems in real time.

Broadly, you'll hear one of three answers:

1. No AI in interviews. Google, ServiceNow, and Anthropic for live interviews.
2. AI is part of the test, with the tools we name. Canva's AI-assisted coding interview; Meta's rounds with a built-in assistant.
3. AI is welcome, with conditions. Thoughtworks appreciates good use of AI tools in assessments and interviews, but asks you to disclose GenAI use and bans personal AI note-takers.

Can you use AI in each interview round?

The rule usually depends more on the round than on the company. This table shows the common pattern; your recruiter's answer overrides it.

Two patterns stand out. First, “AI allowed” often means the company's own tool, not yours. Second, a few employers ban recording and note-taking tools even when they welcome AI elsewhere, which matters if your assistant transcribes the call.

What do company AI interview policies say?

We read each company's own page on 21 October 2026. Policies change, so open the link before your interview, and treat the recruiter's answer as final.

Anthropic

Anthropic's candidate AI guidance (last updated 10 July 2025) is the clearest example of “prepare with AI, interview without it”. It encourages candidates to use Claude to research the company, practise answers and refine an application they drafted themselves. For take-homes and live interviews, it's no AI unless Anthropic says otherwise, and it gives an example of how it will say so. Using AI to invent experience you don't have is listed as not allowed.

Canva

Canva's engineering blog post “Yes, You Can Use AI in Our Interviews” (11 June 2025) says it now expects backend, machine learning and frontend candidates to use tools like Copilot, Cursor and Claude in technical interviews. Its AI-assisted coding interview uses larger, more open problems. Interviewers check judgement, including one question worth practising for: “Can they identify and fix issues in AI-generated code?”

Meta

Meta's hiring process page says select roles now include an authorized AI assistant in CoderPad, and that candidates are expected to use it. You can pick the model during the interview. Design interviews run in CoderPad with Mermaid diagrams and the same assistant. The line that matters for any outside tool: “No outside AI tools or assistance are authorized.” So in a Meta round, use their assistant and nothing else.

Thoughtworks

The Thoughtworks India AI policy for recruitment encourages responsible AI use in your application and asks you to disclose any GenAI tools you used. In assessments and interviews it appreciates good use of AI tools, as long as your answers reflect your own real-time skills and your judgement of what the AI produced. It is also explicit that “candidates are not permitted to use personal AI notetakers or recording tools during interviews.” Any assistant that transcribes the interviewer counts, so ask about it by name.

Google

Google's hiring process page is short and direct: “AI tools are not permitted to be used during your interviews.” It points you to your recruiter for questions.

ServiceNow

ServiceNow's page on using AI during the hiring process encourages AI for preparation, such as organising your thoughts, refining your resume and practising questions. Interviews, online tests and technical challenges are to be done “without any AI assistance or outside help, unless we explicitly say otherwise”. It also bans recording interviews in audio, video or text form, and says breaking the rules can lead to disqualification or a withdrawn offer.

Can you use AI in coding interviews?

Sometimes, and the rounds that allow it test something different. At Canva and Meta, AI is part of the format: the problem is bigger, the assistant writes some of the code, and you are judged on how you steer it. At Google, and at Anthropic unless they say otherwise, a coding interview is still you and the problem.

If your round allows or expects AI, the skills being tested shift:

• Breaking down the problem. Ask clarifying questions before you prompt anything. Canva lists handling ambiguous requirements as a core signal.
• Reading code fast. Meta's advice is to get comfortable reading, debugging and building on existing code.
• Catching mistakes. Run the code, test the edge cases, and say out loud what you're checking.
• Owning the result. Canva says it expects engineers to take full ownership of code they produce, AI-written or not.

A practical drill for a week before an AI-enabled round: take a medium problem, let an AI tool write a first solution, then spend 20 minutes finding what's wrong with it, fixing it and explaining the fix aloud. That is closer to the real round than solving 20 more problems from scratch.

If the round doesn't allow AI, prepare the usual way. Our system design walkthrough shows the kind of reasoning interviewers want to hear in either case.

How to ask your recruiter if AI is allowed

Ask a few days before the interview, by email, so the answer is in writing. Keep it short and specific: name the round, name the tool, and make it easy for them to say no.

Subject: AI tools in my interview on [date]

Hi [name],

Thanks for setting up the [round name] on [date]. Before then, could you confirm the policy on AI tools?

1. Is AI help allowed in this round? If yes, only the tools you provide, or my own as well?
2. I sometimes use Helpwing, an AI assistant that transcribes the interviewer's questions and suggests answers from my resume. Is that allowed in any of my rounds?

If it isn't, that's completely fine: I'll interview without it.

Thanks, [Your name]

A few things make this email work. It asks per round, because the answer can change between rounds. It says what the tool does, including transcription, because some companies ban recording and note-takers separately from AI. And it ends by accepting a no, which is the only honest default.

What to say at the start of the interview

Even with a yes from the recruiter, tell the interviewer at the start. They may not have seen the email, and the rule for their round may differ. One sentence is enough:

“I'd like to use Helpwing, an AI assistant that transcribes the questions and suggests answers from my resume. Is that allowed in this round? If not, I'll keep it off.”

Swap in the name of whatever tool you use. Then do what the answer says:

The weaker version is vague about what the tool does and doesn't wait for permission. The stronger one names the tool, says what it does, asks a yes-or-no question and commits to the answer.

What happens if you use AI when it isn't allowed?

You break the rules of the process you agreed to, and the published policies say what follows. ServiceNow says violations can lead to disqualification or a rescinded offer. Google says AI tools aren't permitted, and Anthropic says no AI unless it tells you otherwise.

There is a practical cost too. If you get through a round on answers that aren't yours, the next round, and the job, will ask for the same skills without the help. The honest route is also the one that holds up: ask, and accept the answer.

Do people use AI in interviews?

Yes, enough that companies now write rules for it. Canva wrote that candidates are increasingly using AI assistance in technical interviews, and redesigned its coding round around open AI use. Meta built an assistant into its interview environment. Others, like Google and ServiceNow, went the other way and put a clear ban in writing.

What hasn't changed is that employers want to see your judgement. Where AI is allowed, they watch how you use it. Where it isn't, they watch how you think without it.

How to use AI in interview preparation

This is where AI helps most, and where nobody needs to give you permission. Anthropic and ServiceNow both encourage candidates to use AI to prepare. A few uses that work:

1. Practise your answers aloud. Paste the job description and ask for the ten questions you're most likely to get. Answer each one aloud with a timer, then ask the AI what was unclear or too long.
2. Review your resume stories. List five projects or incidents and turn each into a STAR story. Ask the AI which follow-up questions each story invites, and check every number against what really happened. Our STAR story bank has a template.
3. Rehearse explaining your projects. Ask for the hardest “why did you choose this?” questions about your own project, then answer them. See how to explain your project in an interview.
4. Research the company. Summarise the product, the team's engineering blog and recent news, then write two questions of your own to ask the interviewer.
5. Prepare for AI-assisted rounds. If the company expects AI in its coding round, practise with Copilot, Cursor or Claude on realistic problems, and focus on reviewing and fixing what they produce.

The line every policy draws is the same: AI can help you express experience you have, never invent experience you don't. Anthropic lists using AI to create experiences as not allowed, and an interviewer's first follow-up question will expose it anyway.

Questions people ask

Can I use ChatGPT in a job interview?

Only if the employer allows it for that round. Many published policies, including Google's and ServiceNow's, say no AI in interviews unless the company says otherwise. Ask your recruiter in writing, then confirm with the interviewer at the start.

Is it okay to use ChatGPT to prepare for an interview?

Yes. Anthropic and ServiceNow both encourage using AI to prepare, for example to practise answers or research the company. Don't use it to invent experience or numbers you can't defend.

Can you use AI in coding interviews?

It depends on the company. Canva expects AI tools in its coding interview, and Meta's AI-enabled rounds include a built-in assistant but ban outside AI. Google says AI tools are not permitted during interviews. Ask which tools, if any, your round allows.

Do I have to tell the interviewer I'm using AI?

Yes. Even if the recruiter said yes, tell the interviewer at the start of the call and ask whether it's allowed in that round. If they say no, keep it off.

Can I use AI in an online assessment or coding test?

Don't. Treat online assessments, coding tests and proctored exams as no-AI unless the instructions name a tool you must use. Helpwing is not for them.

Is an AI note-taker allowed in interviews?

Often not. Thoughtworks bans personal AI note-takers and recording tools, and ServiceNow bans recording in audio, video or text form. If your tool transcribes the call, say so when you ask.

Sources

1. Guidance on Candidates' AI Usage, Anthropic, checked 21 October 2026
2. Yes, You Can Use AI in Our Interviews. In fact, we insist, Canva Engineering Blog, checked 21 October 2026
3. Meta Jobs Hiring Process, Meta Careers, checked 21 October 2026
4. Thoughtworks AI Policy for Recruitment, Thoughtworks India, checked 21 October 2026
5. Our hiring process, Google Careers, checked 21 October 2026
6. Using AI During the Hiring Process at ServiceNow, ServiceNow Careers, checked 21 October 2026