Summary
Manchester Digital hosted a member roundtable with representatives from Arm, Auto Trader, Co-op, AJ Bell, the Information Commissioner's Office, UK Biobank and other local businesses to discuss AI in technical interviews. The discussion revealed no single agreed-upon approach, but rather thoughtful experimentation across organisations. A key tension emerged: candidates increasingly use AI in their daily work and education, yet many interview processes still expect them to operate without it.
Organisations reported growing lack of confidence in traditional assessment methods, particularly take-home coding tasks, where visibility into candidate assistance is limited. However, employers remain committed to assessing core technical ability and problem-solving skills. The conversation shifted from asking 'should we allow AI?' to a more nuanced question: how do candidates use AI? This reflects a broader move away from testing specific knowledge towards assessing reasoning, communication and engineering judgement.
Most participants are still in an exploratory phase, sticking with proven methods such as live exercises, pair programming and structured technical discussion while considering how these might evolve. There was broad agreement on the need for clear candidate guidance and consistency among interviewers. Organisations recognised the importance of being transparent about expectations whilst avoiding rigidity in an area that continues to change rapidly.
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Common questions
- What is this article about?
- A Manchester Digital roundtable brought together major employers including Arm, Auto Trader, Co-op and AJ Bell to discuss how they are approaching artificial intelligence in coding interviews. Most organisations remain in an exploratory phase, with no agreed approach yet, but are shifting focus from whether to allow AI to how candidates use it.
- When was this published?
- This article was published on 14 July 2026.
- Who published this article?
- This article was published by Manchester Digital.