Reg hack attends job interview hosted by AI avatar, struggles to exit uncanny valley

If an employer asks you do to this, demand a trial run so you can learn the rules of this strange new world

A startup called Job Bolt has created AI avatars that conduct job interviews. The Register couldn't help but give it a try and can report that it's an unnerving experience.

Job Bolt's pitch is that resumés and CVs are full of fibs and exaggerations that would come to light in a job interview, but that busy HR people don't have the time to speak to many job applicants. The company thinks AI can solve that problem in three ways.

Job Bolt first asks its users to write a job description, and its AI turns that into a list of questions to pose in a job interview.

Next, Job Bolt unleashes an "AI video presenter" - an automated avatar - to ask a candidate those questions during a online interview that feels a lot like a one-to-one Zoom call.

Once the interview ends, Job Bolt uses AI to summarize the candidate's responses and compare them to other interviewees. HR folks get a summary that helps them decide who is worthy of a second interview with a real person.

Here's a video of a typical AI-hosted interview. It glitches a bit because we excised some gratuitous logo placement.

Youtube Video

So I could experience an AI interview for myself, Job Bolt created the role of editor at a fictional local newspaper, The Riverton Chronicle, and prepared a set of questions about how I find news, work with teams of reporters, and engage audiences.

I found the experience disconcerting, mainly because the avatar's non-verbal behavior is twitchy, repetitive, and comes from way down deep in the uncanny valley – the place where not-real-enough simulations come off as inhuman and creepy attempts at authenticity.

In the video above, the avatar digests an answer for six seconds without responding - we're told because the interviewee didn't press a button to indicate they had finished their answer.

During the interview I took, the avatar processed things a little quicker but its responses were banal. Most opened by referring to my previous answer by saying "Thank you for sharing," then summarized my response ("It sounds like you ...") before pivoting to the next question. The experience felt like participating in an infomercial, not an interview.

Reg hack Simon (top right) during an interview with an AI avatar provided by Job Bolt

The result just didn't feel in any way conversational because the avatar doesn't offer real-time reaction to answers. It can't nod, raise an eyebrow, or make any other gesture, sound, or response that offers a clue about an interviewee's utterances. I therefore found myself groping for anything to guide my responses, but unable to understand how to speak persuasively.

The results felt like my worst self, an uncertain and inarticulate mess no recruiter would consider a strong candidate.

Job Bolt is not the only startup using AI to "improve" the recruitment process. Earlier this year, we met Megan the AI recruiting agent. Others are doubtless exploring the field and, because it's 2025, some HR managers will adopt these AIs.

If you find yourself asked to interview with an AI, I advise requesting a test run so you can experience the platform and learn how to put your best foot forward. That's a reasonable ask given that this sort of thing is new and strange. If an organization won't let you practice, it's probably an indicator that it's not a place you would want to work anyway. ®