AI Interview Assistant for Windows: Setup Guide

An AI interview assistant on Windows hears the interviewer through the sound your PC plays and hears you through your microphone, so setup comes down to three things: allowing desktop apps to use the microphone, making your meeting app play through the same device Windows treats as default, and silencing notifications by hand before you share. After that, check your monitors and shortcuts, confirm the employer allows live help, and run a test call from a second device.

Disclosure: Interview Pilot publishes this guide and makes one of the Windows apps it describes. Windows behavior comes from Microsoft's support documentation and Interview Pilot facts from its help center, both checked on October 21, 2026.

What Windows needs before an assistant can listen

A supported version

Interview Pilot's Windows app needs a 64-bit (x64) PC running Windows 10 version 2004 or later, or Windows 11. You can check under Settings › System › About. Microsoft's own multiple monitors guide notes that Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025, so Windows 11 is the safer choice for an interview laptop that can run it.

Microphone access for desktop apps

Microsoft's camera and microphone privacy page puts the controls in Settings › Privacy & security › Microphone on Windows 11, or Settings › Privacy › Microphone on Windows 10. Three switches matter on Windows 11: Microphone access, Let apps access your microphone and Let desktop apps access your microphone.

The last one trips people up. Microsoft says desktop apps can't be switched on one at a time and may not appear in the app list at all, so an interview assistant installed from a website depends on that single desktop-app switch.

No permission for computer audio

Unlike on a Mac, Interview Pilot needs no permission on Windows to hear computer audio. Screen & System Audio already shows Allowed during setup, and only the microphone needs your approval.

Make Windows and the meeting app agree on devices

Interview Pilot hears the interviewer through Windows' default playback device and hears you through the default communications microphone. It can't pick other devices, so a meeting app playing somewhere else is the most common reason the transcript only shows your voice.

1. Set the output. In Settings › System › Sound › Output, choose the speakers or headphones you'll use. Microsoft's audio troubleshooting guide notes that choosing a device there also makes it the default, and the arrow beside the taskbar volume slider does the same.
2. Match the meeting app. In Zoom, Teams or your browser's meeting site, pick the same speaker, or the option that follows the system default.
3. Watch the monitor. Microsoft warns that if an external monitor without built-in speakers is still the default output, you hear nothing at all, and neither does the assistant.
4. Recheck after Bluetooth connects. Windows may switch the default when headphones connect, so look again after pairing.
5. Restart listening after any change. The assistant picks up devices when recording starts, so stop and start again.

The Windows hearing checks cover the default communications microphone, which lives in the older Sound control panel, and what each on-screen audio message means.

What the interviewer can and cannot see on Windows

The interviewer sees your camera, hears your microphone and sees whatever you share, a window or the whole screen.

• The microphone icon. Microsoft says a microphone icon appears in the taskbar's notification area while an app uses the microphone. An entire-screen share includes the taskbar.
• The assistant window. Interview Pilot on Windows is designed to stay out of screen shares and recordings, on Windows 10 version 2004 or later. If Windows doesn't confirm protection, a Screen-share protection needs attention banner appears; click Retry, and hide the app with Ctrl+B until the banner clears. The screen share troubleshooting guide covers the remaining causes.
• Everything else. No assistant can hide notifications, other apps, permission prompts or files you open, and nothing hides your screen from a camera or someone in the room.

Install and first run

The Windows installation guide covers the installer and sign-in. A few behaviors catch new users:

• An account is required, and sign-in opens in your browser.
• After sign-in the window has no taskbar button and stays on top. Press Ctrl+B to show or hide it, or open it again from the Start menu.
• Closing isn't an option once signed in. To stop the app, open the workspace and use Account › Quit App.
• Updates arrive in place. The app checks when it opens and about once a day, and shows an Update button in the workspace sidebar.

Do Not Disturb, Focus and Phone Link

A chat banner during a screen share shows the sender and often the message. Windows has the tools to stop it, but none of them switch on for a meeting share by themselves.

Do Not Disturb

Microsoft's notifications and Do Not Disturb guide lists the automatic rules under Settings › System › Notifications › Turn on do not disturb automatically: during certain times, when duplicating the display, when playing a game, when using an app in full-screen mode, and after a feature update. Duplicating means mirroring your display to another screen, not sharing it in a meeting, so turn Do Not Disturb on yourself with the bell icon in the notification center.

While it's on, banners still appear for alarms, reminders and any apps you set as priority. Clear chat and email apps from the priority list, and silence any reminder due during the interview.

Focus sessions

A Focus session turns on Do Not Disturb and pauses flashing and badges on taskbar apps. It also shows the Focus period on screen. If you share your whole screen and don't want a countdown in view, use Do Not Disturb alone or turn off Show the timer in the Clock app under Settings › System › Focus.

Phone Link

If your phone is linked, Microsoft's page on phone calls from your PC says you can pick up a ringing call on the PC instead of the phone. During an interview that means a call can ring through your computer, so close Phone Link before you join.

Multiple monitors and screenshots

Press the Windows key and P to choose how displays behave. Microsoft lists four modes: PC screen only, Duplicate, Extend and Second screen only. With Extend, meeting apps let you pick which screen to share; with Duplicate, every display shows the same picture.

Settings › System › Display shows the arrangement, and Identify shows which screen is which. That matters for screenshots: Interview Pilot on Windows captures your main display only. If a coding question sits on a second monitor, drag it to the main one before pressing Ctrl+K. The guide to adding context explains the two-screenshot limit and how to clear old ones.

Shortcuts and the keys they take over

Shortcuts let you work the assistant without clicking away from the meeting. The full list is in the keyboard shortcuts reference.

Shortcut	In Interview Pilot	What it normally does elsewhere
Ctrl+B	Show or hide the window	Bold text
Ctrl+Enter	Start listening, or answer	Send a message in some apps
Ctrl+K	Capture a screenshot	Insert a link, or open a command bar
Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9	Choose a follow-up	Switch browser tabs
Ctrl and an arrow key	Move the panels	Move the cursor by a word

While the app runs, other apps don't receive those keys, even when its window is hidden. If the interview involves typing in a shared document or editor, that matters. Turning off Show Follow-Up Actions frees the number keys, and the shortcut clash guide explains what to do when another app holds a shortcut first. Interview Pilot claims its keys when it opens, so quit the other app, then reopen Interview Pilot.

Test checklist on your PC

Run this the day before, on the PC, network and meeting app you'll use. The two-minute test guide explains what to do if a step fails.

1. Confirm the Windows version in Settings › System › About.
2. Check microphone privacy, including the desktop-app switch.
3. Connect the headset you'll wear and confirm it is the output under Settings › System › Sound.
4. Match the meeting app's speaker to that device.
5. Turn on Do Not Disturb, clear priority apps and close Phone Link.
6. Start a meeting and join it from your phone, then share the way you will in the interview and look at the share on the phone.
7. Read a sentence into the phone from another room, check it reached the transcript, then speak at the PC to check your own voice.
8. Capture a screenshot of a sample question on your main display and remove it again.

Responsible use on Windows

Some employers rule out exactly this kind of tool. Accurate's candidate guidelines for AI and technology use say candidates may not use AI tools, bots, meeting assistants or transcription tools in interviews unless Accurate approves it in advance, while allowing assistive technology as a reasonable accommodation and AI for preparation.

• Ask the recruiter what's allowed, in writing, before the interview.
• Use only what's true. Answers you give should describe experience you have and can expand on.
• Practice without the app until your main stories stand on their own.

Frequently asked questions

Does an AI interview assistant work on Windows 10?

Interview Pilot runs on Windows 10 version 2004 or later and on Windows 11, on 64-bit x64 PCs. Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025, so updating to Windows 11 is the better choice where your PC allows it.

Why can't my AI assistant hear the interviewer on Windows?

Usually the meeting app plays through a different device than Windows' default output. Set the output in Settings › System › Sound, choose the same speaker in the meeting app, then stop and restart listening. Also check that the call is playing on this PC, not your phone.

Can I use Bluetooth headphones with an AI interview assistant on Windows?

Yes, as long as they are the default playback device when listening starts. Windows can switch the default when Bluetooth headphones connect, so connect them first, check the output setting, and only then start the assistant.

Does Windows show when an app is using my microphone?

Yes. Microsoft says a microphone icon appears in the notification area of the taskbar while any app uses the microphone. It is visible to anyone who can see your taskbar, including in an entire-screen share.

Does Do Not Disturb turn on automatically when I share my screen?

Not because of a meeting share. Windows' automatic rules cover set times, duplicating your display, games, full-screen apps and feature updates. Turn Do Not Disturb on yourself before the interview.