Why Google is Bringing Back In-Person Interviews for New Hires in 2025?

According to the news portal Times of India, Google, a multinational computer giant, is preparing to resume in-person interviews after Sundar Pichai, the company’s CEO, said that artificial intelligence (AI) had rendered virtual recruiting unreliable.

Sundar Pichai on AI’s Impact on Virtual Hiring

According to Pichai, Google intends to conduct at least one round of in-person interviews with the candidates in order to make sure the business can identify the essential qualities in a possible recruitment.

In a June 2025 interview with podcaster and computer scientist Lex Fridman, Sundar Pichai stated that Google is ensuring that at least one round of in-person interviews is conducted for individuals to ensure that the basics are covered.

Employees Raise Concerns About AI-Cheating in Interviews

The news story claims that the AI problem has gotten so bad that Google workers are requesting that management stop conducting remote interviews for software developers.

Because interviewees are increasingly using off-camera AI tools to generate solutions, the job role’s requirement that candidates answer real-time coding tasks has been compromised.

Online vs. In-Person: Google’s Hiring Dilemma

According to certain audio recordings from Google’s town hall meeting in February 2025, the staff was bringing up this concern with higher management.

The news portal CNBC examined the recordings and found that one employee asked, “Can we get on-site job interviews back?” “This subject is the subject of numerous email discussions. Can we bring the candidates to an office or setting that we can manage if money is a constraint?

Online Interviews are Faster than Traditional Ones: Brian Ong

The virtual interviews are two weeks quicker and easier to plan, according to Brian Ong, vice president of Google, who also acknowledged that the internet giant was facing a fundamental difficulty. Ong stated, “We definitely have more work to do to integrate how AI is now more prevalent in the interview process,” as reported in the press.

Industry-Wide Problem: Rivals Also Struggling with AI in Recruitment

According to the research, hiring managers are seeing that over 50% of candidates who show up for interviews are using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to cheat.

As we all work in a hybrid environment, Sundar Pichai said in response to an employee, “I think it’s worth thinking about some fraction of the interviews being in person.” It will, in my opinion, benefit both applicants and help them comprehend Google culture.

Ong further emphasised that this problem is not unique to Google and that the company’s rivals are also trying to find solutions to what has turned into a “crisis affecting the entire industry”.