AI Recruiter Interviews Are Reshaping the Job Hunt—Glitches and All
Looking for a job in 2025? You might be interviewed by an AI recruiter before a human ever sees your application. From fast-food chains to luxury hotels, artificial intelligence is becoming the new face of hiring—offering speed, scalability, and, increasingly, scrutiny.
Despite technical hiccups and rising privacy concerns, major companies have adopted AI recruiters to automate candidate screening and scheduling. But for many job seekers, the experience is more confusing than efficient.
Meet “Alex”: The AI Interviewer That Never Sleeps
Wafa Shafiq, a 26-year-old marketing pro in Canada, found herself face-to-face with “Alex,” an AI-powered talent recruiter, after applying for a job at midnight. Within minutes, she was scheduled for an interview the next day—only to realize Alex wasn’t human.
Alex is powered by Apriora, a company now used by brands like Zillow, Club Pilates, Ace Hardware, and the Boston Red Sox. The tech can interview candidates via video, phone, or text—no hiring manager needed.
Shafiq shared her AI video interview on TikTok, where it drew over 56,000 views. “It felt really dystopian,” she said. “Anytime I’m interacting with AI, I’m still always shocked.”
@wafa.gets.better my first time being interviewed by an AI robot (and I loved it) #corporate #employed #jobapplication #jobinterview #ai ♬ original sound – wafa • lifestyle + wellness
While she appreciated features like the live transcript and encouraging feedback, Shafiq said the interview felt one-sided—and ultimately, she was ghosted.
“I didn’t end up hearing back at all,” she said. “So that added to the limited empathy there.”
Shafiq also noted that she was never told in advance she’d be interviewed by AI or given the option to opt out.
AI Glitches Go Viral—and Raise Red Flags
Not every AI recruiter interaction goes as planned. Kendiana Colin, a 20-year-old student at Ohio State, interviewed with Alex for a position at Stretch Lab. Moments into the call, the AI began glitching, repeating the phrase “Vertical bar Pilates” and stuttering like a broken record.
“It sounded like she was laughing,” Colin said. “She acted like it was a tongue twister… that’s what was really creepy.”
The viral video of her interview has now racked up more than 3.2 million views.
@its_ken04 It was genuinely so creepy and weird. Please stop trying to be lazy and have AI try to do YOUR JOB!!! It gave me the creeps so bad #fyp ♬ original sound – Its Ken 🤍
Stretch Lab and its sister brands—Club Pilates, Pure Barre, YogaSix—are all franchises under Xponential Fitness, which confirmed they use Apriora’s platform. While the company supports AI tools to streamline recruitment, it says individual franchisees choose whether to use them.
Apriora CEO Aaron Wang admitted to Bloomberg, “We can’t get it right every time,” but stressed that such errors are rare.
Major Employers Turn to AI Recruiters Despite Backlash
The adoption of AI recruiter tech is booming. Paradox, another major player in the space, boasts clients like McDonald’s, Whole Foods, FedEx, and Nestlé. Their AI assistant “Olivia” can chat with candidates, schedule interviews, and even generate offer letters.
But even Olivia has had issues.
In one case, security researchers discovered vulnerabilities in Paradox’s platform for McDonald’s that could have exposed personal data from up to 64 million chat engagements. Paradox says only five records were accessed and the issue was resolved quickly.
The McHire platform, powered by Olivia and another Paradox tool called Traitify, has been used by McDonald’s since 2019. It reportedly reduced hiring time from 21 days to under three.
“People have a lot of emotions,” said Paradox CEO Adam Godson. “Their self-worth, their economic destiny, like many things, are tied to this process.”
The Human Touch Still Matters
At Fontainebleau Las Vegas, AI recruiter “Olivia” was rebranded as “Morris” to match the company’s tone and needs. Morris helped process 300,000 applications in three months—resulting in 6,500 hires before the hotel’s December 2023 opening.
“While we’re sleeping or with our families, Morris is helping us get the right candidates through the door,” said Kim Virtuoso, the hotel’s Chief People Officer.
Fontainebleau disclosed the use of AI upfront and offered opt-out options—unlike many employers currently using the tech.
Still, the boundaries between AI and human interaction can blur. Some candidates even asked to meet Morris in person after their interview.
Between Automation and Alienation
Companies like Classet are taking a middle road, avoiding video interviews in favor of 24/7 phone-based AI interactions. CEO Gino Rooney says candidates are more comfortable talking to a voice than staring at a robot on camera.
“We don’t do any video interviews… being filmed and talking to a robot maybe feels a bit less organic.”
Even as AI streamlines hiring, frustrations persist. Ghosting, lack of feedback, and confusion about the process are still common. Godson says these issues aren’t unique to AI—they’ve always plagued the job market.
“The best experience is getting the candidate to the decision maker as quickly as possible,” he said, “and to be treated with dignity when that happens.”
