Google tests AI assistants in software engineering interviews to mirror real-world development

Google Is Testing a New Rule That Could Transform Job Interviews

According to an internal document seen by Business Insider this week, Google is experimenting with a new recruiting process for software engineers that will allow them to tap into AI during the interview. Beginning in the second half of this year, Google plans to allow candidates to use an AI assistant during its code comprehension interview. In that round, applicants will analyze an existing codebase -- identifying bugs, improving performance and demonstrating how well they understand and refine real-world code. "Interviewers will evaluate Al fluency, including prompt engineering, output validation, and debugging skills," the document stated, per Business Insider. Google will roll out the pilot to select U.S.-based teams hiring for early and mid-career roles, with plans to expand across more groups and regions if the approach proves effective. A Google spokesperson confirmed the initiative, noting that candidates in the pilot will use the company's Gemini AI as their assistant. "We're always evolving our interview processes to ensure we're recruiting and hiring the best talent," Brian Ong, vice president of recruiting at Google, told Business Insider. "As a part of that, we're rolling out a pilot for software engineering interviews to be more reflective of how our teams are operating in the AI era." The move to allow AI assistants in interviews falls within a larger effort to rethink hiring at Google, bringing interviews closer to today's engineering practices. Google said last month that 75% of the company's new code is AI-generated. Meanwhile, at other AI giants like OpenAI, AI is writing 80% of new code. Google is also making other changes to its hiring process, per the internal document. The company is reworking its "Googleyness and Leadership" interview round, which has long centered on behavioral questions, to include a technical design conversation based on a candidate's prior work. The round will go further than focusing on culture and soft skills to probe how candidates think through real engineering decisions. For earlier-career applicants, Google is also replacing one traditional technical interview with a session built around solving open-ended engineering problems, per the document. Google isn't the only company allowing AI use in interviews. Graphic design platform Canva told engineering candidates last year that it expects them to use tools like Copilot, Cursor and Claude during technical interviews to mirror how its own developers actually work. Meanwhile, late last year, Meta started piloting a new interview type called AI-enabled coding, an interview in which candidates can access an AI assistant to help them write code. Other large employers, including e-commerce software company Shopify and payroll and onboarding platform Rippling, now explicitly allow candidates to bring their preferred AI copilots into live coding sessions. AI coding startup Cognition recently revamped its hiring process to fold AI into technical interviews. Emily Cohen, the company's head of people and operations, told Business Insider that not allowing AI in interviews was similar to "asking a kid to take a math test without a calculator." "For the bulk of building something similar to what you would do on the role, you can and should use AI tools," she told the outlet.

Want a software job at Google? AI could soon help you during interviews, here is how

The new interview style will start rolling out later this year. Google is reportedly planning a major change to its software engineering interviews by allowing candidates to use an AI assistant during selected technical rounds. Under the pilot program, candidates who will be applying for junior and mid-level engineering roles will be allowed to use Google Gemini during the coding interviews. As a result of that, instead of writing new code from the beginning, the interview will now be focused on real work situations. Candidates will need to understand existing code, find and fix issues, make it run better, and clearly explain their thinking while using AI tools properly. The company believes this approach could better reflect how developers work in modern software environments and collaborative engineering teams across the industry. The mountain-view-based tech giant has also confirmed that interviewers will not only judge technical skills but also how candidates interact with AI tools. This includes writing prompts, checking the accuracy of responses, and debugging code generated with AI support. Google says the changes are meant to better reflect the way software engineers now work in real jobs, where AI has become a regular part of coding and problem-solving. Also read: Apple may launch spatial iPhone with holographic display by Samsung: What to expect Brian Ong, Google's vice president of recruiting, said the company is constantly updating its hiring methods to make sure it recruits the best talent. He added that the pilot is designed to reflect how engineering teams are working in today's AI-driven environment. The new process will begin rolling out in the second half of the year. It will first be tested across teams, including Google Cloud and the company's platforms and devices unit in the United States, and if successful, then Google also plans to expand the format to more regions and teams. The changes go beyond coding rounds. Google's Googleyness and Leadership interview, which usually focuses on behaviour and teamwork, will now include a discussion about the technical design of a candidate's past projects. Some junior candidates will also face open-ended engineering challenges instead of one traditional technical round. Also read: Apple hit with Rs 28,340 crore lawsuit in UK over iCloud practices, here is why Google's move mirrors a growing trend across the tech industry. Companies such as Canva and Cognition have already started allowing AI tools in interviews. Industry leaders increasingly see AI as a normal part of software development rather than something candidates should avoid during hiring tests.