Questions that stop AI use during an interview

Your choice of questions sets the limit on what an AI tool can do for a candidate. The sections below show how to stop AI during an interview by rewriting those questions, with samples for four kinds of role.

What makes a question easy for AI

Take "How would you design a URL shortener?" The web holds thousands of worked answers to it, so an assistant has a reply ready while the candidate is still hearing the question. The tools struggle once the answer depends on the candidate's history, on an earlier part of the conversation, or on circumstances that shift during the discussion.

Go into the candidate's own work

Pick one line of the résumé and press for detail nobody else could supply.

• "Your résumé says you moved the billing system to a new database. Which part of that was hardest, and who needed convincing?"
• "Starting that project over, what would you change?"
• "On what did you and your manager disagree?"

Most of what you learn comes from the second and third question about a single project.

Alter the problem once you have an answer

Move a single condition, then ask what follows.

• Engineering: "Suppose the data is now too big for memory. What do you change?"
• Sales: "The buyer tells you half the budget has gone. What is your next sentence?"
• Support: "That fix was tried already, and the customer is angry now. What next?"
• Product: "Three weeks has turned into three months, engineering says. What gets cut?"

Someone who understood the original answer adjusts it on the spot, as a rule. The assistant is a step behind, because the new condition has to reach it before it can respond.

Keep answers short, then ask for the reason

A question such as "Which of those two options would you pick?" calls for a single sentence, and a lengthy silence ahead of one sentence is conspicuous. When the answer is good, follow with "why?" An AI explanation usually recycles general points, and you sit waiting while the candidate reads it aloud.

What to leave out

• Anything from the widely circulated lists of interview questions.
• Brain teasers, plus trivia that has a single right answer.
• A lengthy written prompt recited verbatim.

Frequently asked questions

Do these questions always stop AI during an interview?

They do not. AI help becomes slower and more visible. For the other measures, read how to stop AI use in interviews.

Is this fair on a nervous candidate?

Often it is kinder than trivia, since everyone knows their own work. Let candidates know they may take a moment before answering.

Must every question be replaced?

No. Attach one or two follow-ups to the questions that matter most, since AI help shows most clearly there. Related reading: signs a candidate is using AI, and for technical roles how to stop AI in live coding interviews.