Faking or cheating by candidates in the selection process is not a new phenomenon. Depending on the selection method, candidates may fake responses to improve their chances of progressing to the next stage. For instance, some candidates incorporate keywords into their resume to manipulate resume parsers, provide socially desirable responses in a personality test, and utilize impression management in face-to-face interviews. One study found that 70% of a surveyed sample of 1914 employees admitted to lying in their resume, with 76% on cover letters and 80% on interviews.
The rise of generative AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLM) like ChatGPT, has introduced a whole new way for candidates to cheat, posing a serious threat to the fairness and validity of online assessments. Candidates can now generate a whole new resume or use these tools to cheat on online assessments. Especially in asynchronous online chat interviews, the use of AI-generated content (AGC) can seriously impact both the effectiveness and the fairness of the outcomes.
Sapia.ai has been innovating in the space of text chat based structured interviews since 2019. Our flagship AI screening product, Chat Interview™, is used by leading brands to increase the efficiency, fairness, diversity, and candidate experience at the top of the funnel filtering in high-volume recruitment. Candidates’ responses are already scanned for plagiarized content and flagged for the attention of recruiters or hiring managers, letting a human take action. Our work has also shown that only an average of 3% of candidates plagiarize across different role families, showing that the majority of the candidates want to stay authentic.
To combat the latest cheating challenge, researchers at Sapia.ai have developed a novel way to distinguish between interview responses generated by AI, such as ChatGPT, and genuine human-written responses. They leveraged Sapia.ai’s vast proprietary dataset of over 12 million human-written interview answers in training this detector (over 1.0 billion words). The detector capitalizes on a subtle distinction to identify responses that may have been generated by AI rather than the candidate. By observing the probability discrepancy between AI-generated and human-written text after random perturbations (a form of randomly changing words), the detector can identify, with high accuracy, whether a response is AI-generated or not. The AGC detection model proved highly effective, achieving a very high accuracy (ROC-AUC of 94.49%).
Based on the AGC detector outcomes, Sapia.ai researchers analyzed responses from over half a million candidates who participated in online chat-based structured interviews between January and September 2023 to understand the scope of the problem. January 2023 was chosen as the start of the period as ChatPT had already started getting popular by that time. During this period, 1.16% of candidates were flagged for using AGC in all five questions asked in the Chat Interview™, while 20.20% had at least one response likely generated by AI.
Now, detection is only one aspect of the solution. Deterring candidates from using AGC, on the other hand, is the better way to address this problem. To deter candidates from resorting to AI-generated content, we implemented several methods: instructions were added to encourage candidates to write their own answers, and warnings about tracking plagiarism attempts were included. Additionally, the ability to paste responses was disabled, and pop-up warnings were introduced when answers were flagged as using AGC.
With the implemented deterrence methods, we observed a drastic decline in AGC rates, showing that these measures have a tangible impact on curbing cheating. The weekly average of the candidates flagged for all five questions fell as low as 0.20% from a high of 2.4% (a tenfold reduction) prior to implementing the deterrence mechanisms. Further, we observed a clear alignment between the timing of the implementation of deterrents and the reduction in AGC rates, emphasizing the effectiveness of these measures in encouraging candidates to be themselves when completing their Chat Interviewf.
As technology continues to evolve, so do the challenges in maintaining the integrity of job interviews and assessments. The addition of AI-generated content poses a serious threat, but innovative solutions, such as the AGC detector and deterrence methods, show how Sapia.ai effectively de-risks cheating via cutting-edge innovation, in order to maintain the fairness, validity, and reliability of the hiring process.
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The AGC Debate: Are AI-Written Interview Answers a Red Flag or Smart Strategy?
Every day, we read stories of increased fake or AI-assisted applications. Tools like LazyApply are just one of many flooding the market, driving up applicant volumes to never-before-seen levels.
As an overwhelmed hiring function, how do you find the needle in the haystack without using an army of recruiters to filter through the maze?
At Sapia.ai, we help global enterprises do just that. Many of the world’s most trusted brands, such as Qantas Group, have relied on our hiring platform as a co-pilot for better hiring since 2020.
Our Chat Interview has given millions of candidates a voice they wouldn’t have had – enabling them to share in their own words why they’re the best fit for the role. To find the people who belong with their brands, our customers must trust that their candidates represent themselves. Thus, they want to trust that our AI is analysing real human answers—not answers from a machine.
The Rise of GPT
When ChatGPT went viral in November 2022, we immediately adopted a defensive strategy. We had long been flagging plagiarised candidate responses, but then, we needed to act fast to flag responses using artificially generated content (‘AGC’).
Many companies were in the same position, but Sapia.ai was the only company with a large proprietary data set of interview answers that pre-dated GPT and similar tools: 2.5 billion words written by real humans.
That data enabled us to build a world-first:- an LLM-based AGC detector for text-based interviews, recently upgraded to v2.0 with 99% accuracy and a false positive rate of 1%. An NLP classification model built on Sapia.ai proprietary data that operates across all Sapia.ai chat interviews.
Full Transparency with Candidates
Because we value candidate trust as much as customer trust, we wanted to be transparent with candidates about our ability to detect artificially generated content (AGC). As an LLM, we could identify AGC in real time and warn candidates that we had detected it.
This has had a powerful impact on candidate behaviour. Since our AGC detector went live, we have seen that the real-time flagging acts as a real-time disincentive to use tools like ChatGPT to generate interview responses.
The detector generates a warning if 3 or more answers are flagged as having artificially generated content. The Sapia.ai Chat Interview uses 5 open-ended interview questions for volume hiring roles, such as retail, contact centre, and customer service, and 6 questions for professional roles, such as engineers, data scientists, graduates, etc.
Let’s Take a Closer Look at the Data…
We see that using our AGC detector LLM to communicate live with candidates in the interview flow when artificial content has been detected has a positive effect on deterring candidates from using AI tools to generate their answers.
The rate of AGC use declines from 1 question flagged to 5 questions – raising the flag on one question is generally enough to deter candidates from trying again.
The graph below shows the number of candidates, from a total of almost 2.7m, that used artificially generated content in their answers.
Differences in AGC Usage Rate by Groups
We see no meaningful differences in candidate behaviour based on the job they are applying for or based on geography.
However, we have found differences by gender and ethnicity – for example, men use artificially generated content more than women. The graph below shows the overall completion ratios by gender – for all interviews on the left and for interviews where the number of questions with AGC detected is 5 or more on the right.
Perception of Artificially Generated Content by Hirers.
We’re curious to understand how hirers perceive the use of these tools to assist candidates in a written interview. The creation of the detector was based on the majority of Sapia.ai customers wanting transparency & explainability around the use of these tools by candidates, often because they want to ensure that candidates are using their own words to complete their interviews and they want to avoid wasting time progressing candidates who are not as capable as their chat interview suggests.
However, some of our customers feel that it’s a positive reflection of the candidate, showing that they are using the tools available to them to put their best foot forward.
It’s a mix of perspectives.
Our detector labels it as the use of artificially generated content. It’s up to our customers how they use that information in their decision-making processes.
This concept of having a human in the loop is one of the key dimensions of ethical AI, and we ensure that it is used in every AI-related hiring product we build.
Interested in the science behind it all? Download our published research on developing the AGC detector 👇
Research Paper Download: AI Generated Content in Online Text-based Structured Interviews
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Joe & the Juice Partners with Sapia.ai, Scaling an Exceptional Candidate Experience and Cutting Time to Hire
Read the full press release about the partnership here.
Joe & the Juice, the trailblazing global juice bar and coffee concept, is renowned for its vibrant culture and commitment to cultivating talent. With humble roots from one store in Copenhagen, now with a presence in 17 markets, Joe & The Juice has built a culture that fosters growth and celebrates individuality.
But, as their footprint expands, so does the challenge of finding and hiring the right talent to embody their unique culture. With over 300,000 applications annually, the traditional hiring process using CVs was falling short – leaving candidates waiting and creating inefficiencies for the recruitment team. To address this, Joe & The Juice turned to Sapia.ai, a pioneer in ethical AI hiring solutions.
A Fresh Approach to Hiring
Through this partnership, Joe & The Juice has transformed its hiring process into an inclusive, efficient, and brand-aligned experience. Instead of faceless CVs, candidates now engage in an innovative chat-based interview that reflects the brand’s energy and ethos. Available in multiple languages, the AI-driven interview screens for alignment with the “Juicer DNA” and the brand’s core values, ensuring that every candidate feels seen and valued.
Candidates receive an engaging and fair interview experience as well as personality insights and coaching tips as part of their journey. In fact, 93% of candidates have found these insights useful, helping to deliver a world-class experience to candidates who are also potential guests of the brand.
“Every candidate interaction reflects our brand,” Sebastian Jeppesen, Global Head of Recruitment, shared. “Sapia.ai makes our recruitment process fair, enriching, and culture-driven.”
Results That Matter
For Joe & The Juice, the collaboration has yielded impressive results:
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33% Reduction in Screening Time: Pre-vetted shortlists from Sapia.ai’s platform ensure that recruiters can focus on top candidates, getting them behind the bar faster.
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Improved Candidate Satisfaction: With a 9/10 satisfaction score from over 55,000 interviews, candidates appreciate the fairness and transparency of the process.
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Bias-Free Hiring: By eliminating CVs and integrating blind AI that prioritizes fairness, Joe & The Juice ensures their hiring reflects the diverse communities they serve.
Frederik Rosenstand, Group Director of People & Development at Joe & The Juice, highlighted the transformative impact: “Our juicers are our future leaders, so using ethical AI to find the people who belong at Joe is critical to our long-term success. And now we do that with a fair, unbiased experience that aligns directly with our brand.”
Trailblazing for the hospitality industry
In an industry so wholly centred on people, Joe & the Juice is paving the way for similar brands to adopt technology that enables inclusive, human-first experiences that can reflect a brand’s core values.
If you’re curious about how Sapia.ai can transform your hiring process, check out our full case study on Joe & The Juice here.
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Sapia.ai Wrapped 2024
It’s been a year of Big Moves at Sapia.ai. From welcoming groundbreaking brands to achieving incredible milestones in our product innovation and scale, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in hiring.
And we’re just getting started 🚀
Take a look at the highlights of 2024
All-in-one hiring platform
This year, with the addition of Live Interview, we’re proud to say our platform now covers screening, assessing and scheduling.
It’s an all-in-one volume hiring platform that enables our customers to deliver a world-leading experience from application through to offer.
Supercharging hiring efficiency
Every 15 seconds, a candidate is interviewed with Sapia.ai.
This year, we’ve saved hiring managers and recruiters hours of precious time that can now be used for higher-value tasks.
Giving candidates the best experience
Our platform allows candidates to be their best selves, so our customers can find the people that truly belong with them. They’re proud to use a technology that’s changing hiring, for good.
Leading the way in AI for hiring
We’ve continued to push the boundaries in leveraging ethical AI for hiring, with new products on the way for Coaching, Internal Mobility & Interview Builders.