Hiring has always been about getting the right people in the right seats. That has not changed. What has changed is that one of the biggest dividing lines between candidates today, and one of the biggest tells about your own company, now runs straight through artificial intelligence.
So here is the interview question you need to be asking right now.
"The interview question you need to be asking right now."
"Tell me, what is your opinion on artificial intelligence?"
That is it. Simple, open, and it does more work than almost anything else on your interview sheet.
This one question tells you three things at once.
First, it tells you whether the candidate is aligned with how your company actually thinks about AI. Second, it tells you something about your company itself. Are you scared of this and quietly hoping it goes away, or are you a company that wants to be a mover, an early onboarder, and genuinely innovative? The way you react to their answer is its own little mirror. Third, and maybe most useful, it gives you real insight into their knowledge and depth.
"When we say 'AI,' we are not all saying the same thing."
Here is why that last part matters so much. When we say "AI," we are not all saying the same thing. We all have different viewpoints. We are all at different levels with it. We all hear that word a little differently. Some people mean generative AI. Some people are thinking about one specific platform they tried once. Others live in it every day across a dozen tools. An open question lets the candidate show you exactly where they sit on that spectrum, instead of you guessing.
"An open question lets the candidate show you exactly where they sit, instead of you guessing."
"Tell me about a recent problem you solved with artificial intelligence."
This is the second question, and the framing is deliberate. Notice the words. A problem you solved.
That phrasing is doing a lot of quiet work. It pulls you past buzzwords and into evidence. You are no longer asking what they think about AI in the abstract. You are asking them to walk you through something real.
"You are no longer asking what they think about AI in the abstract. You are asking them to walk you through something real."
When they answer, you get insight into how they problem solve. You learn which tools they actually reach for and what their real capabilities are. You see how deeply they understand the technology rather than how well they can talk about it. If the answer is thin or vague, that is not a dead end. That is your cue to dig in with follow up questions until you understand how they think. The goal is not to catch them. The goal is to genuinely see how their mind works on a problem.
"The goal is not to catch them. The goal is to genuinely see how their mind works on a problem."
Why this all comes back to problems
Here is the bigger point underneath both questions.
The entire reason we use artificial intelligence is to solve problems. And the only reason any business exists, the only one, is to solve people's problems. Every transaction is an exchange of value because something is being solved. Sometimes it is a problem the customer already feels. Sometimes it is a problem they did not know they had until your marketing helped them see it. But it is always, in some form, a problem.
"The only reason any business exists, the only one, is to solve people's problems."
AI helps us solve problems, which helps us solve our customers' problems. That is all it is. It is a tool. A powerful one, but a tool.
"AI is a tool. A powerful one, but a tool."
These two questions also help you find the right balance in a candidate. You want someone who reaches for AI to solve real problems, not someone so extreme in either direction that they either refuse to touch it or want to throw it at everything regardless of whether it fits. Right people. Right seat. The right read on culture.
"Right people. Right seat. The right read on culture."
And in today's day and age, culture fit includes artificial intelligence. If you are not asking about it in your interviews yet, start with these two questions.
"Culture fit now includes artificial intelligence."
Live Intentional.