Navigating AI in an executive interview

There’s no getting around it. Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay. 

Whether you were an early adopter in late 2022, or are only just beginning to dabble in it, the question about how you use AI in your current workplace is increasingly coming up in executive interviews in 2026.

In this article, Executive Interview Coaching founder Richard Elstone offers strategies to build your AI literacy, navigate AI questions, and use AI to prepare for the interview. Richard brings a unique perspective, as he actively works in executive search, as well as providing executive interview coaching.

If you haven’t been using AI, start building your fluency today

If you’ve avoided using AI up until this point, now is the time to start experimenting with the technology. Richard says he uses AI tools every day, and encourages his executive clients to do the same. Building AI fluency is a process, and through trial and error you’ll begin to understand what it can and can’t do.

If you’re not sure where to start, try using AI for a task you do regularly. Ask it to do a first draft of a presentation, analyse a report and summarise the document for you, prepare notes for an upcoming meeting, or to challenge your thinking on a business problem. 

Richard says the key is to start using AI regularly so that you can understand where it can create value, where it falls short, and how you can use it more effectively. 

Understand that it’s all about the prompt

Whether you’re drafting a presentation or an update for a stakeholder, the quality of the output depends on the prompts you put into the AI tools.

“It’s about really understanding what it is that you want as an output, to give the AI some guidance about what it is you’re looking for,” says Richard. “It’s a bit like using a scientific calculator. If you don’t know how it works manually, such as how to ask it to do a square root, it’s very difficult to use it. You need to train the AI.”

Richard recommends giving AI as much relevant context as possible. Rather than plugging in a short, generic prompt, gather your thoughts, background information and key requirements in a Word document, then provide it to the AI and see what it produces.

The more clearly you articulate what you want, why you want it, and any other relevant information, the more useful AI’s responses are likely to be.

Know how to answer questions around AI 

Richard says nowadays, it’s pretty much a given you’ll be asked how you use AI in your current workplace in an executive interview. But rather than just showing familiarity with AI, you should aim to demonstrate business impact.

A weak response can signal you’ve been left behind the competition. Richard says the worst thing you could say is something along the lines of, “We’re exploring AI”, “We don’t know much about it”, or “AI will transform everything.”

“Those responses are just too passive and superficial,” explains Richard. “You need a strong, practical answer about what the problem was you were trying to fix and what AI tool you used to really make a measurable impact.”

Hiring teams and search consultants will want to know how you’re using AI to create an advantage in the workplace. This should go beyond saying you’ve used ChatGPT for personal communication or emails. A stronger answer might demonstrate how you’ve used AI tools to improve organisational performance or decision-making, automate repetitive tasks, or to enhance processes.

Richard suggests preparing two examples: one focused on productivity and process improvement, and another demonstrating leadership judgement. For each, be ready to explain the problem you identified, how you used AI, what changed, and the measurable impact.

“At the end of the day, it is going to be one of the questions that will come up in the interview and a poorly answered question will knock you out,” he said.  

Use AI to refine your interview responses, but know its limitations

When preparing for executive interviews, candidates are increasingly putting job descriptions into AI tools and asking them to identify potential interview themes. Richard says this can be a useful starting point, but the human element remains essential, particularly when it comes to delivering compelling storytelling. 

The last thing you want is to memorise and regurgitate AI-scripted answers that lack personality, authenticity, and depth, according to Richard. 

“AI may come up with some of the interview themes, it may even suggest some of the gap areas that are between the CV and the job description,” he says. “However, what AI can’t do is listen to the answers and tell you how to effectively answer the question.”

Hiring teams want to hear your personality through your responses. They want to understand how you’ve dealt with difficult situations, made decisions, solved problems and delivered results, not just hear a polished AI-written response.

“There are some things we can outsource to AI, but you can’t outsource interviewing to AI,” he says. “It’s impossible. It’s missing the human element.”

Looking to take the next step in your executive career?

Executive Interview Coaching offers a range of services to help prepare you for the interview process and land your next executive appointment. 

With Richard’s expert guidance, he’ll help you finetune your interview responses, provide a framework on how to answer curveball questions (including those around AI), and cut through the competition in the interview room.

To get started, get in touch today.

About Richard Elstone

Richard Elstone is Founder of Executive Interview Coaching and a Partner at Amrop Carmichael Fisher, advising Boards, CEOs and executive teams on executive appointments.