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Why Do Candidates Prefer AI Interviews?

Data shows 78% of candidates prefer AI interviews. Lower stress, flexibility, and a sense of fairness are the key reasons behind this preference.

Mei SullivanMei Sullivan·
Candidates AI interview preference visual

Hiring processes often mean high stress and performance anxiety for candidates. Sweating in front of a person, feeling that every gesture and expression is being judged — it puts even the most experienced professionals under pressure. However, a quiet revolution has been happening in the business world in recent years: candidates are increasingly preferring to interview with AI rather than a human. While the idea of a "robot interviewer" may sound cold at first glance, data shows that this technology actually creates a "liberating" space for candidates. This new interview paradigm, where social pressure disappears, allows talent to express themselves in a much more natural and confident way.

Social pressure and anxiety: The invisible burden of human interviewers

In traditional interviews, candidates don't just answer questions — they also try to read the interviewer's body language, tone of voice, and instant reactions. This creates an enormous cognitive load and social pressure on the candidate. According to data shared by TestGorilla (2025), AI interviews create far less social pressure and "angst" (anxiety) on candidates compared to human-led interviews. When speaking with a human, candidates feel compelled to constantly weigh the reactions to their pauses, clothing, or appearance.

AI pulls this judgment process onto an entirely mechanical and standardized plane. According to the study conducted by Booth School and referenced in the TestGorilla (2025) report, the vast majority of candidates in the AI interview group used words like "comfortable" and "positive" to describe their experiences, while this rate was much lower in the human-led interview group. This striking difference proves that when speaking with a machine, candidates can set aside their "fear of judgment" and focus solely on their own competencies.

Career in pajama comfort: 24/7 accessibility and flexibility

Another important reason for choosing AI interviews is the absolute autonomy and flexibility they offer. Coordinating calendars with human interviewers, fighting traffic, or trying to get time off during business hours creates a major operational burden for candidates. According to the Voice AI Interview Platforms report (2025), the biggest advantage of voice AI platforms is offering candidates the opportunity to interview at a time of their choosing.

This radically improves the candidate experience. In the "Experience and Adaptation in AI-mediated Hiring Systems" research by Md Nazmus Sakib and colleagues (2018/2024), one participant notes that they were able to complete the interview at 2 AM, in their pajamas, with their dog by their side — something that would never be possible in a normal interview. When candidates interview in their safe spaces and at their most productive hours, they naturally deliver much higher performance.

Fairness and consistency: Focusing on data instead of "vibes"

Human interviewers can sometimes be affected by fatigue or unconscious biases. An interviewer's mood that day or the "electricity" (vibe) they feel with a candidate can skew decisions. The "How Voice AI Enhances Fairness" analysis published by Insyder (2025) emphasizes that AI platforms standardize interviews using predefined question banks and scoring algorithms for each candidate. This brings the principle of "a level playing field for everyone" to life.

When candidates know the system doesn't harbor any "bias" against them, they find the process fairer. AI looks at the quality of the data the candidate presents rather than their identity. In the field experiment with 70,000 participants conducted by Brian Jabarian and Luca Henkel (2026), AI usage was found to cut reported gender discrimination nearly in half.

Sense of control and self-regulation

In traditional interviews, it's impossible to take back a word once spoken. This triggers the fear of "what if I say something wrong." However, advanced AI interview tools offer candidates a "control panel." Interface experiments by Md Nazmus Sakib et al. (2018/2024) show that offering candidates the option to edit their answers or re-record the interview reduces anxiety.

In these systems, candidates can:

  • Correct answers via transcript: the candidate can manually fix a word the AI misheard.
  • Retry: a candidate who got nervous and stumbled can retake the question, recording a more confident version.
  • Instant feedback: supportive sentences from the AI help the candidate feel they're not talking to a wall.

Sakib and team (2018/2024) note that candidates particularly preferred the transcript editing feature over the re-recording option, and that it increased the candidate's "expressive power."

Conclusion: Why does 78% choose AI?

At the end of the day, the numbers don't lie. According to TestGorilla (2025) and Jabarian & Henkel (2026) data, when given a choice, the vast majority of candidates prefer an AI voice agent for their interview. This preference isn't just about loving technology; it's about the search for a less stressful, fairer, more flexible, and more controllable experience.

One important thing companies need to understand: AI interviews don't exist to remove humans from the equation, but to lighten the heavy "burden of judgment" weighing on them. As noted by Nicole Jurado (2025), candidates want to see AI efficiency at the beginning of the interview and human empathy at the end.

References

  • Jabarian, B., & Henkel, L. (2026). Voice AI in Firms: A Natural Field Experiment on Automated Job Interviews. Booth School of Business, University of Chicago.
  • Jurado, N. (2025). The effects of artificial intelligence on shaping employer brand perception: insights from entry-level hiring practices. Master Thesis, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
  • Sakib, M. N., Rayasam, N. M., & Dey, S. (2018/2024). Experience and Adaptation in AI-mediated Hiring Systems: A Combined Analysis of Online Discourse and Interface Design. University of Maryland.
  • TestGorilla. (2025). Why 78% of candidates choose AI job interviews (and what it means for hiring). TestGorilla Insights.
  • Lee, B. C., & Kim, B. Y. (2021). Development of an AI-based interview system for remote hiring. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), 12(3), 654-663.
  • Microsoft. Building a dynamic workforce through neurodiversity. Microsoft Neurodiversity Program Report.
  • Insyder. Voice AI Interview Platforms That Candidates Actually Enjoy. Insyder Recruiting Trends.
  • Dargnies, M. P., Hakimov, R., & Kübler, D. (2025). Behavioral Measures Improve AI Hiring: A Field Experiment. Discussion Paper No. 532, CRC TRR 190.