AI interviews rolling out for some federal government hires, sources say

The federal government will begin utilizing artificial intelligence in the interview process for some job applicants, sources indicate. This shift will initially target the Tech Force, an eight-month-old program aimed at recruiting private-sector tech experts into two-year government positions. The CodeSignal platform will be employed to screen applicants for the Tech Force, according to an official.

While the federal government, employing approximately 1.9 million individuals, has lagged behind the private sector in adopting AI interviewing tools for high-volume postings, recent guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) encourages agencies to incorporate AI into the hiring process, albeit with human oversight for critical decisions.

OPM recently introduced an AI tool to assist in crafting job descriptions. Scott Kupor, OPM's director, has advocated for expediting the federal hiring process and encouraging agencies to prioritize early career professionals for at least a third of their new hires. AI is increasingly being employed in various personnel office tasks, granting administrative staff access to AI programs such as Microsoft's Copilot, Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Google's Gemini.

During the pilot program for Tech Force hires, AI agents will conduct structured interviews using predetermined questions, recording and summarizing the audio for later review by hiring managers. CodeSignal provides several AI-powered tools for early-stage applicant screening, encompassing virtual AI agents, phone, audio, and text-based options.

The transcribed recordings of candidates' responses will be shared with hiring managers. In the years to come, AI is anticipated to play a more prevalent role in the federal government's interview process, per multiple officials.