AI stops here: How AI tools fall short in preparing for curveball interview questions

It’s the type of curveball question interviewers love to throw at job candidates—not necessarily to evaluate their math skills, but to understand how they think critically and approach problems.

Ask ChatGPT to help you prepare an answer to this interview question, and the generative artificial intelligence (AI) model instructs you to: 1) visually estimate the room’s dimensions to find its volume; 2) convert cubic feet into cubic inches; 3) determine the volume of an average golf ball; and 4) divide the room volume by the golf ball volume.

Here’s the problem with this response: Unless you’re a mathematician, you may not know any of those calculations off the top of your head. Even if you memorized the formulas beforehand, you may have trouble doing the math under the stress of a job interview. 

And let’s say, for the sake of argument, you could follow the format and use spur-of-the-moment mathematical reasoning to answer the question. At this point, you’ve only done so because ChatGPT told you what to do and say. Your response might impress an interviewer, but it would give them no sense of your true problem-solving abilities.

AI tools can be a valuable part of your job search, including your interview preparation. But you can’t rely on this technology as a substitute for the real, hard-earned skills and knowledge you’ve built throughout your life. When it comes to answering tricky interview questions, the best approach is to rely on your own mind and practice with a real person who can challenge you to think on your feet.

How can AI help you prepare for job interviews?

More and more people have started using AI in their job search. As many as 65 percent of candidates say they’ve used this technology during the application process, according to a 2025 report from Career Group Companies. 

“I do think that anyone who’s a savvy job searcher right now...it would surprise me if they’re not looking into [AI],” Jillian Lawrence, a senior vice president at Career Group Companies, told CNBC. 

With the savviest job seekers already using AI, it makes sense to incorporate this technology into your interview preparation. AI tools, including large language models (LLMs) like Google Interview Warmup, can even ask you questions, engage with you in conversation, and provide feedback on your responses.

Some benefits of using AI for interview preparation include:

• Convenient mock interviews. With AI technology, you can conduct mock interviews whenever it’s most convenient for you. There’s no need to schedule time with a career coach or ask a friend to sit down with you for practice.

• Real-time feedback and analysis. AI tools can provide instant feedback and analysis, evaluating you on everything from your response to your delivery. Did you pause too long or say “umm” too many times? An AI model will let you know.

• Suggestions for improvement. Based on this analysis, AI interview tools can also provide suggestions for ways to improve or polish your answers. These tools can highlight ways to play on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

• Tailored interview questions. Paste a job description into an AI chatbot, and it can come up with a nearly endless list of potential interview questions targeted to the job. With this information at your fingertips, you can spend your time practicing answers to likely questions, rather than wasting time guessing what an employer might ask. 

Best AI prompts for interview questions

If you want to use ChatGPT or another AI tool for interview prep, here are some helpful prompts to get you started:

1. Say you’re a hiring manager at [name of company]. I’m applying for [role]. Based on the job description pasted below, come up with 10 potential interview questions you’re likely to ask me. Provide sample responses to each question.

2. Act as an interviewer at [name of company] and ask me five questions about the company’s culture, mission, and work environment.

3. I’m applying for [role] at [name of company]. List 10 technical questions that an interviewer at this company might ask for this role.

4. What are eight interview questions a hiring manager might ask someone applying for [role] who’s switching careers from [former industry]?

5. What are five behavioral questions a hiring manager might ask someone interviewing for a leadership position in [name of company]?

Limitations of AI in preparing for curveball interview questions

While AI has its benefits, it’s not a perfect tool. This technology has limitations in the interview preparation process, especially when it comes to curveball questions. After all, employers ask these questions to assess how well you can think on your feet—not how well you can mimic an AI chatbot.

Here are some dangers of using AI as your only tool for interview prep:

Impersonal answers with no personality

By using AI to prepare responses for off-the-wall questions, you risk stripping your personality from an interview. Think back to the golf ball question from the beginning of this article. Unless you’re interviewing for a mathematician role, an employer probably won’t expect you to know the formula for finding the volume of a sphere. If you parrot this response in an interview, you miss an opportunity to show an employer your true self, including your creativity and critical thinking.

Inauthentic voice

Regurgitating AI-developed responses in an interview can also come across as inauthentic. While meant to imitate the way humans speak, AI-drafted content can often feel generic or vague. If you rely too heavily on these tools for preparation, your answers may start to sound detached, impersonal, and, yes, robotic. Many hiring managers can easily pick up on insincere answers, especially to questions that require depth and reasoning.

No human connection

Beyond these drawbacks, AI tools also lack the ability to simulate genuine connection, which is an essential part of any interview. ChatGPT can’t understand subtle nuances, like a slight pause for reflection before speaking. It can miss small details, such as tone or body language, that a hiring manager will be watching for in an interview.

Don’t forget that interviews are a two-way street, so you should also be attuned to these details. Unfortunately, using ChatGPT won’t help you practice interpreting a hiring manager’s energy or expressions. Since this technology can’t replace real conversations, which require emotional intelligence, you may find yourself at a disadvantage if you limit your preparation solely to AI tools.

Lack of critical thinking

The point of interview preparation is to make you feel more confident when answering an interviewer’s questions, even the tough ones. But if you only use AI technology to prepare, it’s possible you may actually feel less confident when you get asked a curveball question, because you haven’t practiced working through a complex problem on your own.

This idea of outsourcing critical thinking tasks to AI tools has become known as “cognitive offloading.” A recently published study on cognitive offloading found a negative link between frequent AI usage and critical thinking skills. In the conclusion, the study’s author wrote: “This suggests that while AI tools offer undeniable benefits in terms of efficiency and accessibility, they may inadvertently diminish users’ engagement in deep, reflective thinking processes.”

Why a human touch matters for interview preparation

The best way to approach curveball questions in an interview is to think critically, work through the problem, and offer a solution based on logic. If you constantly use AI to think for you, it’s possible you may be ill-equipped to answer difficult questions in an interview.

When tackling a tough interview question, one strategist also recommends thinking about why the employer is asking the question in the first place. Jillian Low, chief strategy officer at Virtual Internships, wrote on LinkedIn that when “a question catches you off-guard, pause and ask yourself: Why are they asking this?” According to Low, these reasons might include:

• To understand how you adapt and handle uncertainty in real time

• To evaluate your critical thinking

• To learn more about your personality

Working with a career or interview coach can help you gain insights into a hiring manager’s thought process. These experts know why employers ask the questions they do, including the unusual ones. More importantly, they can offer advice about what interviewers are looking for in your responses. Unlike an AI chatbot, they’re able to draw on personal experiences to help you prepare for an interview with a real person on the other end.

How to use AI as a supplement for job interviews

None of this is meant to dissuade you from using AI in your interview preparation. As we mentioned above, these tools have many benefits, including convenience and accessibility. But be careful about only using AI tools for your interview prep. It’s best to combine this technology with traditional methods, such as mock interviews with other real people.

Follow these tips for using AI as a starting point, not a substitute for real-world interview practice:

• Use AI for brainstorming questions. AI tools can help you quickly generate potential questions to practice, including curveball questions that you might not expect employers to ask.

• Practice your answers out loud. Even if you use AI to prepare potential responses, always practice saying them out loud. Ask yourself, “Does this sound like me?” If the answer is no, keep refining your response until it sounds natural.

• Work with a real person. Before the big day, try to do at least one practice interview with a real person. Work with a career coach, a mentor, or a friend you trust. Ask for their feedback on areas where AI can’t help as much, such as body language and eye contact.

• Request offbeat and follow-up questions. When doing a mock interview, ask the other person to give you challenging problems to solve and follow-up questions to your responses. These conversations can help you feel more comfortable thinking on your feet and confidently explaining your reasoning to a real person.

Get interview help that goes beyond AI

AI technology can help you with interview preparation, but for difficult and unexpected questions, it’s best to work with a real person who can offer human-centered insights and feedback. TopResume’s GetHiredNow service will match you with career experts who can help you with every part of your job search—from building a resume and writing cover letters to interview coaching and support.

If you’re struggling to answer tough questions in interviews, our coaches can work with you to build your confidence. They’ll instruct you on tried-and-tested strategies backed by years of real interviewing experience. For a one-time fee, you’ll get unlimited access to coaching and job search assistance for as long as you need. We won’t stop working with you until you get hired. 

Want more details? Book a consultation for a free 15-minute call to discuss whether GetHiredNow is right for you.