Online interviews can also be cheated: How Cluely AI deceives interviewers and rewrites the recruitment model?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly changing the job-seeking landscape. A tool called "Cluely AI" that claims to be "undetectable" has emerged, which can not only instantly collect visual and audio content during video interviews but also provide responses and reactions. This has drawn criticism from some business managers, who argue that it reduces online interviews to "a performance," sparking a comprehensive review of the online recruitment system.

What is Cluely? An AI that helps you "look like you're not cheating".

Cluely AI, developed by 21-year-old Korean entrepreneur Chungin "Roy" Lee, is positioned on its official website as an "undetectable desktop assistant," with its core selling point being its "stealthiness." Neither the other party in a video conference nor the interviewer can perceive that the interviewee is using AI assistance.

Cluely is out. cheat on everything. pic.twitter.com/EsRXQaCfUI

— Roy (@im_roy_lee) April 20, 2025

The specific functions of Cluely AI include:

Real-time question analysis and answer generation: Cluely can quickly analyze questions posed by interviewers, including technical or behavioral questions, and generate natural and context-appropriate responses.

Screen content scanning analysis: Scan the interviewee's screen, including LinkedIn profiles, notes, or other reference materials, and generate more accurate responses based on this information.

Voice and text collaborative processing: Synchronously handle voice and text input to ensure that interviewees can respond fluently even in a tense environment.

Simulating human vocal behavior: To avoid being detected, Cluely will also suggest that candidates adjust their speaking speed, tone, and pauses to avoid appearing too "mechanical."

Business Insider and CNBC even emphasized in their reports that Cluely's strong anonymity has raised questions about the fairness of traditional video interviews.

Video interviews turning awkward: Are interviewers and job seekers just going through the motions?

The core contributor of the wallet company OneKey, @ohyishi, candidly stated that the involvement of AI tools has rendered the process of remote interviews meaningless; both parties in the interview know that the other is acting, and they are just cooperating with each other tacitly.

Recently, we have canceled all video interviews for non-remote positions and switched to in-person interviews.

After the advent of AI, video interviews have completely changed, turning into a tacit performance. Candidates have a bunch of agents behind them, while interviewers pretend to ask questions, and candidates pretend to provide answers.

All answers have been precisely calibrated, making the significance of video interviews nonexistent.

— Yishi (@ohyishi) May 6, 2025

The candidate prepared a bunch of agents behind them, while the interviewer pretended to ask the questions, and the other party pretended to provide the answers.

The misuse of AI tools allows job seekers to perfectly respond to questions, even solving technical challenges without issue. However, companies are still noticing an increasing number of instances where candidates have wandering eyes and provide overly smooth answers that are off-topic, further confirming the actual involvement of tools like Cluely.

Recruitment system forced to be restructured: Is AI collaboration becoming the new standard?

With the collapse of trust in video interviews, some companies, including @ohyishi, have begun to fully return to in-person interviews, hoping to curb the trend of cheating during interviews.

However, there is a viewpoint that "the ability to collaborate with AI" itself is a core competency for the future workplace. VeryCD founder @DashHuang responded by pointing out:

Traditional interviews should shift towards testing the collaboration efficiency between job seekers and AI, such as real-time drills, joint decision-making, or design challenges, to truly reflect future work scenarios.

AI Changes the Rules of Career Competition: The Dual Contradiction of Fairness and Ability

However, the emergence of Cluely has indeed brought about considerable controversy regarding career perspectives for this type of AI tool:

Fairness and ethical issues: Those who use AI may gain unequal advantages, while those who cannot afford or utilize the tools may be marginalized.

Hiring Risks: If employees hired through the misuse of AI tools do not match their actual abilities, it may harm team performance.

The Future of AI Interviews: Cooperation or Confrontation?

Gartner, a research and advisory company in the United States, previously predicted that after 2025, about 40% of global recruitment processes will be dominated by AI. From Cluely to HireVue or Pymetrics, AI tools have transitioned from assessors to participants. Future recruitment may no longer just test knowledge, but rather creativity, on-the-spot responses, and the ability to collaborate with machines.

Here, Cluely may not just be a cheating tool, but the "first domino" that triggers a transformation in recruitment thinking.

The emergence of Cluely AI is forcing companies and job seekers to reassess the definitions of "capability" and "actual performance." In this wave of transformation brought about by AI, how to delineate the boundaries between technological assistance and ethics will become key to future workplace development.

This article Online interviews can also be cheated: How Cluely AI deceives interviewers and rewrites the recruitment model? First appeared in Chain News ABMedia.