playbook
AI meeting bot policy for hiring interviews
A practical policy for using AI meeting bots in recruiting calls, hiring interviews, candidate screens, panel interviews, and debriefs.
Bottom line
Hiring interviews are not normal internal meetings. They can include candidate names, contact details, employment history, salary expectations, immigration or work authorization context, disability accommodation requests, demographic signals, references, evaluation notes, and interviewer judgments.
Use this default rule:
Do not use an AI meeting bot in hiring interviews unless the company has candidate notice, opt-out handling, transcript retention, evaluator access, and a written rule that AI output may not make or rank hiring decisions.Before approving a bot, run the AI Tool Risk Checker for the recruiting workflow and record the decision in the Small Team AI Security Checklist. Use the general AI meeting bot consent and retention template for non-hiring calls, but apply the stricter rules below for candidate interviews.
Hiring interview risk matrix
| Interview workflow | Bot default | Minimum control |
|---|---|---|
| Internal recruiter prep with no candidate data | Allow. | Keep notes internal and avoid personal speculation. |
| Candidate phone screen | Restrict. | Notice before the call, opt-out path, transcript private to recruiting team. |
| First hiring-manager interview | Restrict. | Human interviewer owns notes; no automated scoring or ranking. |
| Technical interview or portfolio review | Restrict. | Do not record passwords, private repos, proprietary code, or candidate personal projects without approval. |
| Panel interview | Restrict. | Limit transcript access to interview panel and recruiter. |
| Accommodation, immigration, medical, legal, background, or sensitive personal discussion | Block normal bot use. | Use manual notes and escalate to the responsible HR or legal owner. |
| Interview debrief | Restrict. | Bot may capture action items, but not broad subjective candidate judgments unless retention and access are controlled. |
If the transcript would be risky to attach to the candidate record, the bot should not join the meeting.
Candidate notice script
Use a short, plain notice before recording, transcription, or AI summarization starts. The candidate should not have to infer the bot’s role from its display name.
Before we begin, we sometimes use an AI assistant to create an interview transcript and internal notes for the hiring team.
It does not make the hiring decision or score your interview.
The transcript and notes are used only by our recruiting and interview team.
If you prefer not to be recorded or transcribed by AI, tell us now and we will remove the assistant and take manual notes instead.Calendar invite version:
This interview may use an AI assistant for transcription and internal hiring notes. Tell us before or during the call if you prefer manual notes.Do not use dark patterns. If a candidate opts out, remove the bot and continue the interview.
Candidate data handling rules
Recruiting teams should separate interview capture from hiring decisions.
| Data or output | Default rule |
|---|---|
| Raw audio or video | Off unless there is a documented interview reason. |
| Raw transcript | Private to recruiter, hiring manager, and approved interviewers. Do not share broadly. |
| AI summary | Human-reviewed before it enters the applicant tracking system. |
| Interview score or recommendation | Human-owned only. Do not let a meeting bot score, rank, reject, or advance candidates. |
| Accommodation, health, family, age, religion, disability, immigration, or other sensitive context | Minimize capture; route to the appropriate owner if it appears. |
| Candidate code, portfolio, writing sample, or work sample | Treat as candidate intellectual property; do not upload to other AI tools without approval. |
| Rejection or offer notes | Keep factual, role-related, and human-reviewed. |
The bot may assist with internal note structure, but it should not become an unreviewed candidate evaluation engine.
Interviewer policy
Copy this into the hiring playbook.
AI meeting bot policy for hiring interviews
AI meeting bots may be used for candidate interviews only when approved by the recruiting owner.
The interviewer must provide notice before the bot records, transcribes, summarizes, or captures the interview.
If the candidate objects, the interviewer must remove the bot and use manual notes.
AI output may not be used to score, rank, reject, or advance a candidate without human review.
The bot may not be used in interviews involving accommodation requests, medical information, immigration-sensitive discussion, legal issues, background-check details, or other sensitive personal topics unless the responsible HR or legal owner approves the specific workflow.
Raw transcripts may not be automatically synced to the applicant tracking system, Slack, Drive, email, or broad hiring channels.
AI-generated summaries must be reviewed by the recruiter or hiring manager before they are saved to the candidate record.
Interview transcripts and bot-generated notes are retained for [30/60/90] days unless the recruiting owner documents a longer retention reason.
If restricted candidate data is captured, the interviewer must notify [owner] the same business day and request deletion or access restriction where appropriate.ATS and sharing controls
Applicant tracking systems make meeting-bot mistakes durable. A short summary can become a permanent candidate record, be visible to future hiring teams, or be exported during a dispute.
| Integration | Default policy |
|---|---|
| ATS notes | Sync only reviewed summaries, not raw transcripts. |
| Calendar | Include candidate notice when a bot may join. |
| Slack or Teams | Do not post transcripts or unreviewed candidate summaries. |
| Drive or shared folders | Store only in restricted recruiting folders. |
| Email follow-up | Human review before any candidate-facing message. |
| Interview scorecards | Keep structured, job-related, and human-owned. |
| Analytics dashboards | Do not use bot analytics to infer protected traits or candidate fit. |
If a connector cannot be scoped to a recruiting workspace or approved user group, leave it disabled.
Retention and deletion plan
Hiring data needs a shorter and more deliberate retention plan than normal team notes.
| Record | Suggested default | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Raw interview transcript | 30-60 days unless needed for a documented process. | Recruiting owner. |
| AI summary | Same as candidate evaluation notes if reviewed and saved. | Hiring manager. |
| Manual interviewer notes | Follow company recruiting record policy. | Interviewer and recruiter. |
| Candidate-facing email | Follow email and ATS policy. | Recruiter. |
| Sensitive or off-topic personal data | Delete or restrict quickly. | Recruiting, HR, or legal owner. |
| Opt-out record | Keep a short operational note without penalizing the candidate. | Recruiter. |
Every approved bot should have a deletion owner. “The tool stores it somewhere” is not a retention policy.
Approval checklist
Approve an interview bot only when the answer is yes.
- The bot account is company-managed, not a personal account.
- Candidates receive notice before AI recording, transcription, or summarization.
- Candidates can opt out without penalty.
- Interviewers know how to remove the bot quickly.
- Raw transcripts are not auto-synced to the ATS.
- AI output is not used to score, rank, reject, or advance candidates without human review.
- Sensitive interview types are blocked by default.
- Transcript and summary retention is documented.
- Access is limited to recruiter, hiring manager, and approved interviewers.
- Offboarding removes recruiter and interviewer access to transcripts and connected tools.
If the bot cannot meet these controls, use manual notes.
Rollout plan
Use a narrow pilot before allowing all recruiters or interviewers to use the bot.
| Step | Action | Exit criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pick one recruiting workflow, such as recruiter screens for one role. | Owner, role, and tool documented. |
| 2 | Disable auto-join for all interviews by default. | No surprise bot joins. |
| 3 | Configure transcript access, ATS sync, and retention. | Raw transcript does not auto-sync. |
| 4 | Train interviewers on the notice script and opt-out process. | Interviewers can explain and remove the bot. |
| 5 | Run 5-10 low-risk interviews with human-reviewed summaries. | No unreviewed output reaches candidate records. |
| 6 | Review candidate objections, transcript quality, and oversharing. | Policy updated before expansion. |
| 7 | Approve, restrict, or block broader rollout. | Decision recorded in the AI workflow register. |
Do not pilot on executive hiring, sensitive roles, accommodation-heavy workflows, or final decision meetings.
Red flags
Pause the workflow when any of these occur.
| Red flag | Response |
|---|---|
| Candidate was not told the bot was recording or transcribing. | Stop use and fix notice process. |
| Bot joins interviews automatically from a calendar connection. | Disable auto-join and review all recruiting calendars. |
| Transcript includes accommodation, medical, immigration, or family status details. | Restrict access and escalate to responsible owner. |
| AI summary includes speculation about personality, culture fit, age, accent, disability, or protected traits. | Remove from record and retrain interviewers. |
| Raw transcript syncs to ATS or Slack. | Disable connector and audit prior records. |
| Recruiters rely on AI summaries without reading notes. | Require human review before candidate record updates. |
| Departed interviewer still has access. | Fix offboarding and workspace permissions. |
Evidence checked
- Zoom AI Companion Security and Privacy
- Zoom meeting summary admin controls
- Fireflies security and privacy
- Fireflies policy on keeping information safe
- Otter privacy policy
- Otter recruiting use case
- EEOC guidance title checked: “The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Use of Software, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence to Assess Job Applicants and Employees”.
- EEOC guidance title checked: “Select Issues: Assessing Adverse Impact in Software, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence Used in Employment Selection Procedures Under Title VII”.
FAQ
Can we use an AI meeting bot if the candidate agrees?
Consent or notice is only one control. You still need retention, access, ATS sync, human review, opt-out handling, and a rule that AI output does not make the hiring decision.
Can AI summarize interview notes into the ATS?
Yes, after review. Do not save raw transcripts or unreviewed summaries into the candidate record by default. Keep the final record factual, role-related, and human-owned.
Can the bot score candidates?
No for a small-team default. Scoring, ranking, rejection, or advancement should remain human-owned unless the company has a formal employment-selection review process and qualified legal/HR approval.
What if a candidate opts out?
Remove the bot and use manual notes. Do not penalize the candidate. The recruiter can record a neutral operational note such as “manual notes used.”
Should we use bots in interview debriefs?
Only with restrictions. Debriefs often contain subjective judgments that should not be widely shared or preserved without review. Use structured scorecards and keep candidate-related statements factual and job-related.
Recommended next step
Pick one recruiting workflow, fill in the policy placeholders, and pilot it on 5-10 low-risk recruiter screens. Then run the AI Tool Risk Checker and record the final approval in the Small Team AI Security Checklist.