Tech firms are bringing job interviews back in person to stop AI use, RTO guru says

• Stanford economics professor Nick Bloom said AI is causing tech firms to revive in-person interviews.
• Coding tests are harder to trust as candidates can use AI for real-time answers, Bloom said.
• "Are you interviewing Claude or the person?" Bloom said.

Tech companies are bringing job candidates back into the office for an extra screening measure: whether they are using AI.

Nick Bloom, a Stanford economics professor known for his research on remote work, says AI is undermining the virtual coding tests and interviews that tech firms have long used to assess candidates.

"A lot of tech firms used to hire folks based on coding tests. They can't do that anymore," Bloom said in an episode of the Financial Times' "Economics Show" podcast released on Friday.

Candidates can use AI prompts during online interviews and simply read out the answers, he said, causing some tech firms to hold final and middle interview rounds in person.

"Are you interviewing Claude or the person?" Bloom said, referring to Anthropic's chatbot.

Interview RTO

There is some data that backs the broader shift toward more in-person hiring.

Greenhouse's 2025 AI in Hiring Report, based on more than 4,100 job seekers, recruiters, and hiring managers across the US, UK, Ireland, and Germany, found that 39% of US hiring managers were conducting more in-person interviews "to verify" candidates.

Its 2026 report, with a smaller sample size and only covering the UK, Ireland, and Germany, showed a continuation of the trend. Greenhouse said employers were adding more hands-on steps to validate candidates' skills and fit amid worries about AI-assisted applications and fraud.

At the same time, some companies are encouraging the use of AI in interviews.

Earlier this year, Business Insider reported that Google launched a pilot that lets software engineering candidates use an approved AI assistant, while vibe-coding startups, including Cognition, Base44, and Replit, have embraced AI use in technical hiring.

Some of the employers allowing AI use in interviews are instead placing greater emphasis on skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking, alongside culture fit, Business Insider previously reported.

Cisco, for example, is moving from conventional coding challenges toward project-based exercises that observe how candidates operate in AI-enabled workflows.

"The human element of oversight and expertise is more crucial than ever," Scott McGuckin, Cisco's VP of global talent acquisition, told Business Insider earlier this month.