Illinois AI Video Interview Act: what employers must do
On this page
- The Act at a glance
- Who and what the Act covers
- Before the interview: notice, explanation and consent
- Sharing and deletion
- Demographic reporting for employers that rely solely on AI
- The 2026 law people confuse it with: HB 3773
- Other Illinois laws that touch interview recordings
- Common errors and the correction
- Compliance checklist
- Questions people ask
The Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act (820 ILCS 42) has applied since January 1, 2020. An employer that asks applicants for Illinois-based positions to record video interviews and uses AI to analyze those videos must, before the interview, tell applicants AI may be used, explain how it works and what characteristics it evaluates, and get their consent. It must also limit who sees the videos, delete them within 30 days of a request and, since 2022, report demographic data if it relies solely on AI to decide who gets an in-person interview.
A common error online is that this Act took effect in 2026. It did not. The Illinois AI law that took effect on January 1, 2026 is a separate amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act, covered further down.
This is not legal advice. It summarizes the statutes as published on the Illinois General Assembly's website, as of September 2026. The Act is short and leaves questions open, and the rules for the 2026 Human Rights Act amendment had not been adopted when we checked. Confirm how these laws apply to your tools and process with counsel.
The Act at a glance
The full text is on ilga.gov (820 ILCS 42). It was enacted by Public Act 101-0260, effective January 1, 2020, and amended by Public Act 102-0047, which added the reporting section effective January 1, 2022.
| Section | What it requires | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| § 5 | Before asking for a video interview: notify the applicant that AI may be used to analyze it and consider their fitness for the position; explain how the AI works and what general types of characteristics it uses; obtain consent. No AI evaluation of applicants who have not consented. | A written notice, a plain explanation and a recorded consent step before the interview link is sent |
| § 10 | Share videos only with persons whose expertise or technology is necessary to evaluate the applicant's fitness | A list of who can access videos, including vendors |
| § 15 | On the applicant's request, delete their videos within 30 days, and instruct everyone who received copies to delete them, including electronically generated backups | A deletion procedure that reaches vendors and backups |
| § 20 | Employers relying solely on AI analysis of video interviews to select applicants for in-person interviews must report race and ethnicity data annually | Decide whether you rely solely on AI; if so, collect and report the data |
Who and what the Act covers
The Act applies to an employer that "asks applicants to record video interviews and uses an artificial intelligence analysis of the applicant-submitted videos" when considering applicants for positions based in Illinois. Three parts of that sentence decide whether you are in scope.
Recorded video interviews
The obligations attach to videos applicants record and submit, the typical one-way video interview. The text does not expressly address AI analysis of a live, two-way video interview on Zoom, Teams or Meet. We found no official guidance resolving that question as of September 2026. If a tool analyzes live interview video, the conservative course is to treat the Act's steps as good practice and get advice on whether they are required.
Artificial intelligence analysis
The Act does not define "artificial intelligence." A tool that evaluates facial expressions, word choice or voice to assess fitness is the case the Act was written for. A tool that only produces a transcript of what was said is not obviously an "analysis ... to consider the applicant's fitness," but without a definition, the answer depends on what the tool does with the video. Ask the vendor exactly what is analyzed and what output it produces.
Positions based in Illinois
The trigger is where the position is based, not where the employer is headquartered or where the applicant lives. An out-of-state employer or agency filling an Illinois-based role is within the text.
Before the interview: notice, explanation and consent
All three steps in § 5 must happen before the applicant is asked to record the interview. A notice buried in a privacy policy or shown after recording has started does not match the sequence the Act describes.
- Notify the applicant that AI may be used to analyze the video interview and consider their fitness for the position.
- Explain how the AI works and what general types of characteristics it uses to evaluate applicants. "Proprietary algorithm" is not an explanation.
- Obtain consent. The Act does not specify the form. An affirmative action, such as a checkbox the applicant must tick before the recording link works, gives you a record.
An example notice, to adapt with counsel to what your tool actually does:
Before you record your video interview
[Employer] uses [tool name], which uses artificial intelligence, to analyze
recorded video interviews for this position and to help us consider each
applicant's fitness for the role.
How it works: [plain description, e.g. the tool transcribes your answers and
compares them with the skills listed in the job description].
What it evaluates: [general types of characteristics, e.g. the content of your
answers to each question. It does / does not analyze facial expressions, tone
of voice or appearance].
Who sees your video: [roles], and [vendor] to operate the tool. We do not share
it with anyone else.
Deleting your video: you can ask us to delete it at any time by emailing
[address]. We will delete it, and ask everyone who received a copy to delete
theirs, within 30 days.
[ ] I have read this notice and consent to AI analysis of my video interview.
If you do not consent, [alternative, e.g. contact us to arrange a live
interview instead].The Act does not require an alternative for applicants who decline, but it does prohibit AI evaluation of applicants who have not consented. Decide in advance how those applicants are considered.
This notice is about AI analysis. If you also record or transcribe live interviews, recording consent is a separate step with its own wording; see the interview recording consent script.
Sharing and deletion
Section 10 limits sharing to people "whose expertise or technology is necessary in order to evaluate an applicant's fitness for a position." In practice, that means your hiring team and the vendor operating the tool, not a general talent pool or a partner agency.
Section 15 is the operational one. Within 30 days of receiving an applicant's request, you must delete their interview videos and instruct any other person who received copies to delete them, "including all electronically generated backup copies." A deletion procedure that works:
- One address or form where deletion requests arrive, logged with the date received.
- A list of every system and vendor that receives interview videos.
- A written instruction template to vendors, sent the same week, asking for confirmation including backups.
- A diary date well inside the 30 days to chase confirmations.
- A record of completion kept without the video itself.
Demographic reporting for employers that rely solely on AI
Section 20, added in 2022, applies only to an employer that "relies solely upon an artificial intelligence analysis of a video interview to determine whether an applicant will be selected for an in-person interview." Such an employer must collect and report:
- the race and ethnicity of applicants who are and are not afforded the opportunity for an in-person interview after the AI analysis, and
- the race and ethnicity of applicants who are hired.
The report goes to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity annually by December 31, covering the 12 months ending November 30. The Department then analyzes the data and reports to the Governor and General Assembly by July 1 each year on whether it discloses racial bias in the use of AI.
If a person reviews the AI's output and makes the selection decision, you may not be relying "solely" on the AI. Write down how the decision is actually made, because that record is what answers the question later.
The 2026 law people confuse it with: HB 3773
Public Act 103-0804 (HB 3773), approved on August 9, 2024 and effective January 1, 2026, amended the Illinois Human Rights Act. It is broader than the Video Interview Act and is not limited to video.
- Definition. It defines artificial intelligence as "a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments," including generative AI (775 ILCS 5/2-101).
- Discriminatory effect. For recruitment, hiring, promotion, discharge, discipline and other employment decisions, it is a civil rights violation for an employer to use AI "that has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination on the basis of protected classes," or to use zip codes as a proxy for protected classes (775 ILCS 5/2-102(L)(1)).
- Notice. It is also a violation to fail to provide notice to an employee that the employer is using AI for those purposes (5/2-102(L)(2)). The provision is written in terms of "employees," although the listed purposes include recruitment and hiring; how notice applies to applicants was one of the questions rules were expected to settle.
- Rules. The Act directs the Illinois Department of Human Rights to adopt rules, including on when and how notice is given. As of September 2026, the official Illinois Administrative Code for the Department's rules (56 Ill. Adm. Code 2520) shows no AI subpart. Law firm reports say proposed rules were published in the Illinois Register in May 2026 and withdrawn in June 2026; we could not open the Register entries to confirm that.
The practical difference: the Video Interview Act is a process law for one kind of tool. The Human Rights Act amendment is an anti-discrimination law that reaches any AI used in employment decisions, including interview scoring.
Other Illinois laws that touch interview recordings
- Eavesdropping. Illinois is commonly listed as an all-party consent state for recording private conversations (720 ILCS 5/14-2). If you record or transcribe live interviews with candidates in Illinois, get consent. The statute and its definitions are in the table on two-party consent states.
- Biometric privacy. The Biometric Information Privacy Act defines "biometric identifier" to include a "voiceprint" and a "scan of hand or face geometry" (740 ILCS 14/10). If an interview tool identifies speakers by voice or analyzes faces, ask the vendor whether it creates voiceprints or face geometry and take advice on BIPA. We found no official source addressing whether a plain transcript involves a voiceprint, so do not assume either way.
- New York City. If you also hire for NYC roles, scoring tools can fall under a different regime; see NYC Local Law 144.
Common errors and the correction
| What you may read | What the statute says |
|---|---|
| "The AI Video Interview Act took effect in 2026" | It applied from January 1, 2020; the reporting section from January 1, 2022. The 2026 law is the Human Rights Act amendment. |
| "It covers all AI hiring tools" | It covers AI analysis of applicant-recorded video interviews for Illinois-based positions. Other AI tools fall under the Human Rights Act amendment. |
| "Notice in the privacy policy is enough" | Notice, explanation and consent must all come before the applicant is asked to record. |
| "Deleting our copy satisfies a request" | You must also instruct others who received copies to delete them, including backups, within 30 days. |
| "Every employer using AI video tools must report demographics" | Only employers that rely solely on AI analysis to decide who gets an in-person interview. |
| "The Act defines AI" | It does not. The Human Rights Act amendment does. |
Compliance checklist
- List every hiring tool that receives video of applicants for Illinois-based roles, and what each analyzes.
- For recorded video interviews analyzed by AI: notice, explanation and consent built into the invitation, before the recording link.
- A written explanation of how the AI works and the characteristics it uses, checked against the vendor's documentation.
- A plan for applicants who do not consent, so they are not evaluated by the AI.
- An access list limited to people whose expertise or technology is needed to evaluate fitness.
- A 30-day deletion procedure that reaches vendors and backups, with a log.
- A documented answer to whether you rely solely on AI for in-person interview selection, and if so, the December 31 report.
- A separate review of all AI used in employment decisions against the Human Rights Act amendment, including employee notice.
- Recording consent for any live interviews with candidates in Illinois.
- A date to recheck the Department of Human Rights' rulemaking.
Questions people ask
When did the Illinois AI Video Interview Act take effect?
January 1, 2020, under Public Act 101-0260. The demographic reporting section was added by Public Act 102-0047, effective January 1, 2022. The Illinois AI law that took effect on January 1, 2026 is a different one: an amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act.
Does the Act apply to live Zoom or Teams interviews?
The Act's text refers to employers that ask applicants to record video interviews and use AI to analyze the applicant-submitted videos. It does not expressly address AI analysis of live interviews, and we found no official guidance on that question, so get advice before assuming either way.
Does the Act define artificial intelligence?
No. The Act has five sections and no definition of artificial intelligence. The 2026 Human Rights Act amendment does define it, as a machine-based system that infers from its input how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions.
What happens if an employer does not comply?
The Act itself has no penalty or enforcement section. That does not make non-compliance safe: other Illinois laws, including the Human Rights Act's AI provisions, may apply to the same conduct, so take advice on your exposure.