Is Using AI During an Online Interview Considered Cheating?

In today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world, it feels like AI is everywhere — from writing our emails to helping us prepare for meetings. But when it comes to job interviews, where’s the line? Is using AI considered smart preparation... or outright cheating? Let’s break it down.

Your Virtual Tech

4/28/20252 min read

Using AI as a Prep Tool? Totally Fine.

If you’re using AI to prepare for your interview — think generating practice questions, refining your answers, or researching the company — you’re doing what any smart candidate would do.
It’s no different than reading a guide, asking a friend for help, or attending a coaching session.

Examples of acceptable AI use:

Practicing answers to common interview questions
Summarizing company news and job role expectations
Getting tips on how to present your skills better

In short: If you're doing the work yourself, you're good.

Using AI During the Interview? It Depends.

Here's where things get tricky.

If you're in a live interview (especially virtual), and you’re secretly using AI to feed you real-time answers while you pretend they’re your own — that crosses into dishonest territory.

Imagine typing a question into ChatGPT during a video call and reading the answer back without thinking for yourself.

That’s cheating.

Why? Because interviews are meant to assess your skills, thinking, and communication abilities — not how well you can Google or prompt an AI tool.

But What About AI Help for Take-Home Assignments?

Many companies send candidates take-home projects or case studies.

Here, the rules can be a little more flexible if the company hasn’t set strict guidelines.

Some might expect you to use all available tools (including AI) to find creative solutions.

Others might specifically say "no external help" — in that case, using AI would definitely be cheating.

When in doubt: Always ask the recruiter for clarification. It shows professionalism and honesty.

The Bigger Picture: AI Can’t Replace You

Even if AI can help polish an answer or make a project cleaner, it can’t replace critical thinking, genuine communication, or emotional intelligence — all things employers are looking for.

Relying too much on AI can actually hurt you in an interview, because you might come across as robotic or disconnected. Companies want real people, not perfect scripted answers.

Final Thoughts

Using AI to prepare for interviews? Smart.

Using AI to cheat live during interviews? Risky and dishonest.