Can you use AI to prepare for an interview, and where is the line?

Yes, you can use AI to prepare for an interview. Using it live, to come up with your answers while someone is interviewing you, is where most employers draw the line.

I spent years as an in-house recruiter, and I've now seen this from both sides of the table. Candidates ask me about it every week, so here is the plain version.

The three zones

Think of it like traffic lights.

Green: before the interview. Researching the company, generating practice questions, shaping your STAR stories, tidying a written answer and rehearsing with a mock interviewer are all fine. The Australian Taxation Office's recruitment guidelines, for example, say candidates can use AI to prepare for an interview and to organise their ideas or improve their writing.

Amber: it depends. Take-home tasks, cover letters, written applications and AI note-takers sit here. Check what the employer has said. If they haven't said anything, ask yourself one question: would I be comfortable telling them how I used it?

Red: during a live interview or assessment. Tools that listen and feed you answers in real time are the clearest example. The ATO guidelines say candidates must rely on their own skills during the interview or assessment itself, and should explain how they used AI if asked.

Why the line matters more now

Employers have noticed. A Checkr survey found 59% of managers suspect candidates have used AI to misrepresent themselves. In response, some now ask for camera pans around the room, a hand wave in front of the screen, screen sharing, live writing tasks, or a final round on site.

A US survey by RefAssured found 74% of candidates have used AI to write or edit a resume, and 98% of HR professionals say they've caught candidates misrepresenting qualifications. Using AI is common. Being caught misrepresenting yourself is what costs people the job.

I think that's the wrong thing to focus on, though. Interviewers aren't hunting for AI. They want to see how you think when the question isn't polished. As one recruiter put it, AI can help candidates work, but it shouldn't be able to impersonate their skills.

What the rules say in Australia

There are a few things to know, and none of them stops you preparing with AI.

First, from 10 December 2026, employers covered by the Privacy Act must describe in their privacy policies the kinds of decisions made by automated systems, or substantially influenced by them. If an employer uses AI to screen applicants, that should start showing up in writing. This is a transparency rule about privacy policies, not a notice sent to each candidate.

Second, there's still no general rule that private employers must tell you when AI is used in recruitment, according to JobWatch. So you may not be told. It's reasonable to ask, and it's worth reading the privacy policy before you apply.

Employers must already tell applicants how their personal information is collected and used. If you're doing a recorded video interview, you can ask who reviews the recording and how long it's kept. Facecruit explains how this works for video interviews.

Anti-discrimination law also still applies to AI screening, so a tool can't lawfully reject people because of things like age, gender, race or disability. JobWatch covers this too.

This is general information, not legal advice. Employers set their own rules, so follow what the one you're applying to has said.

How to use AI well to prepare

Here's the workflow I'd use.

1. Paste in the job ad and ask for the ten questions most likely to come up.
2. Write your own answer to each one first. Don't ask AI to write it.
3. Ask AI to point out where your answer is vague, too long or missing a result.
4. Rewrite it in your own words.
5. Say it out loud. Do it three times, then once more tomorrow.

That last step matters most. If you can't say it naturally, it isn't yours yet, and an interviewer will hear that.

Want a quick way to check you're ready? Use the interactive AI interview checklist.

What if the interviewer is an AI?

More candidates are meeting AI interviewers. A Greenhouse survey of UK jobseekers found 82% of those who'd had one weren't told beforehand, and about a third of candidates dropped out once they found out.

If it happens to you, ask how the recording will be used and whether a human will review it. Then answer as you would for a person, with clear structure and specific examples. Do a practice run on camera first so it feels less strange.

Rehearse until the answers are yours

The best use of AI is as a sparring partner. Practice Lab gives you realistic questions, STAR-scored feedback and coaching notes, so you can rehearse out loud and see where your answers are weak. Try Practice Lab.

If you'd like a human to work through your answers with you, my 1:1 coaching is there for that.

Quick questions

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

No. Preparing is expected. The line is using it live to produce your answers.

Do I have to tell an employer I used AI?

Only if they ask, or their rules say so. If they ask, be honest.

Can employers tell if I'm using AI in a video interview?

Increasingly, they try to. Long pauses, reading off-screen and answers that don't match your follow-up replies are the usual signs.

Can I use AI on a take-home task?

Check the instructions. If they don't say, ask.

Related reading: Using AI in Job Interviews: What’s Fair, What’s Not, and Can Employers Tell?.