AI disclosure to candidates: notice templates for AI tools in hiring
On this page
- When a notice is required
- Before you write: an inventory of what your tools do
- Template 1: careers page statement
- Template 2: job posting line
- Template 3: pre-interview notice
- Template 4: Illinois video interview notice and consent
- Template 5: spoken line at the start of an interview
- Mistakes that make a notice worse than none
- Questions people ask
An AI disclosure to candidates tells applicants which AI tools you use in hiring, what those tools do with their information, whether a person makes the decision, and how to ask for an alternative or an accommodation. Some of this is legally required: New York City requires notice before an automated tool screens candidates, Illinois requires notice and consent before AI analyzes recorded video interviews, and California, Colorado and Connecticut add notice duties in 2027. The templates below give you a careers page statement, a job posting line, a pre-interview notice, a spoken line and an Illinois-specific consent form, with a table showing which rule each one is built for.
This is not legal advice. The legal requirements below were checked against the linked statutes, regulations and regulator pages as of September 2026. This area changes several times a year. Templates are a starting point; have counsel confirm them for the places you hire before use.
When a notice is required
| Where | Trigger | What the notice must cover | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City | An automated employment decision tool used to screen candidates who are city residents | That the tool is used, the job qualifications and characteristics it assesses, and instructions to request an alternative process or accommodation; data type, source and retention on request | At least 10 business days before use (DCWP) |
| Illinois | AI analysis of applicant-recorded video interviews for Illinois-based positions | That AI may be used, how it works and the general types of characteristics it evaluates; consent | Before the interview (820 ILCS 42/5) |
| Illinois | AI used in recruitment, hiring and other employment decisions | Notice that AI is used; detailed rules not yet final | In force since January 1, 2026 (775 ILCS 5/2-102(L)) |
| Maryland | Facial recognition that creates a facial template during an interview | A signed waiver with the applicant's name, the interview date and their consent | Before the interview (Lab. & Empl. § 3-717) |
| California | Automated decisionmaking technology used for a significant decision, including hiring | A pre-use notice covering the purpose, the rights to opt out and to access, and how output is used | From January 1, 2027 (CCPA regulations § 7220) |
| Colorado | Automated decision-making technology that materially influences a hiring decision | Notice before use, and a disclosure after an adverse outcome | January 1, 2027 (SB 26-189) |
| Connecticut | Automated employment-related decision technology deployed in the state | Disclosure of interaction with the technology, and a written pre-decision notice with six specified items | Deployments on or after October 1, 2027 (P.A. 26-15) |
| EU | High-risk AI systems, which include recruitment and selection | Inform the people subject to the system's decisions (Art. 26(11)) | From 2 December 2027 (AI Act, as amended) |
| UK and EU | Any processing of candidate data, including automated decision-making | The existence of automated decision-making, meaningful information about the logic, and its consequences | At collection (GDPR Art. 13(2)(f)) |
The detail behind each row is in AI hiring laws by state, the Local Law 144 guide, the Illinois AI Video Interview Act guide and the EU AI Act guide. Utah's generative AI disclosure duty is a separate question, covered in Utah AI disclosure in hiring.
Before you write: an inventory of what your tools do
A notice is only as good as its accuracy. Answer these for each tool, then use the answers to fill the templates.
Tool name and vendor:
Stage used: [sourcing / screening / interview / assessment / decision]
What it does: [transcribes / summarizes / scores / ranks / filters /
analyzes video, voice or faces / chats with candidates]
What it evaluates: [skills, qualifications, answers to questions, ...]
Who decides: [a person reviews every output / output can reject automatically]
Data it uses: [resume, application answers, interview audio, ...]
Where data goes: [our systems / vendor cloud / speech-to-text provider]
Retention: [period]
Alternative offered: [human review / different assessment / accommodation route]The line between tools matters legally. A tool that only transcribes is in a different position from one that scores or ranks, and most notice laws are triggered by the second kind. If a tool can reject someone without a person looking, say so.
Template 1: careers page statement
How we use AI in hiring
We use some AI tools to help our recruiting team. Here is what they do:
- [Tool/category, e.g. interview transcription]: [what it does, e.g. turns
what is said in interviews into text so interviewers can focus on the
conversation. It does not score or rank candidates.]
- [Tool/category, e.g. application screening]: [what it does and what it
evaluates, e.g. compares applications with the qualifications in the job
posting and suggests an order for review.]
People make every hiring decision. [No application is rejected by software
without a person reviewing it.]
Data: [what the tools use], kept for [period]. See our candidate privacy
notice at [link].
Alternatives and accommodations: if you would prefer not to be assessed by
[tool], or need an adjustment because of a disability or for any other reason,
contact [email] and we will offer [an alternative process / a human review].
Asking will not affect your application.
Questions: [email].For New York City roles, DCWP's rules let employers give applicants notice on the employment section of their website, and a tool can be used from 10 business days after the notice is posted. Check the notice against the content the rules require, including the qualifications and characteristics the tool assesses and how to request an alternative or accommodation, before relying on it.
Template 2: job posting line
We use [tool/category] to [what it does] for this role. It assesses
[qualifications and characteristics, e.g. the required skills listed above].
To request an alternative process or an accommodation, email [address].
Details: [careers page link].Template 3: pre-interview notice
Subject: Your interview for [role] on [date]
[Logistics.]
About the tools we use: during the interview I use [tool], which [transcribes
our conversation so I can write accurate notes / other function]. It does not
[score, rank or make decisions about] candidates; I and the hiring team do.
[It sends short audio segments to a speech-to-text service to create the
transcript; the service does not keep the audio.] The transcript is kept for
[period].
If you'd rather I didn't use it, reply to this email or tell me at the start
of the call, and I'll take notes by hand. If you need any adjustment for the
interview, let me know.Adapt the bracketed sentence about audio to what your tool actually does. Recording consent is a separate question with its own wording, in the interview recording consent script.
Template 4: Illinois video interview notice and consent
Use this only where you ask applicants to record video interviews for an Illinois-based position and AI will analyze them. It must go out, and consent must come back, before the interview.
Artificial intelligence notice for your video interview
For the [role] position, we ask applicants to record a video interview.
Artificial intelligence may be used to analyze your video interview and
consider your fitness for the position.
How it works: [plain explanation of how the AI works].
What it evaluates: [general types of characteristics, e.g. the content of
your answers against the skills listed in the job posting].
We share your video only with [people whose expertise or technology is needed
to evaluate your application]. You can ask us to delete your video interview
at any time; we will do so within 30 days and tell anyone who received a copy
to delete theirs.
[ ] I consent to my video interview being evaluated by the artificial
intelligence program described above.
Name: ________ Date: ________
If you do not consent, [describe the alternative, e.g. a live interview].Template 5: spoken line at the start of an interview
"One more thing before we start: I'm using [tool] today, which [does X]. It
doesn't make any decisions; I and the team do. If you'd rather I didn't use it,
just say so."Mistakes that make a notice worse than none
- Understating the tool. Calling a scoring tool "a note-taker" is the fastest way to turn a notice into a misleading statement.
- Promising what you cannot deliver. Do not offer an alternative process or a deletion timeline you cannot actually provide.
- Asking for consent that is not optional. If candidates cannot proceed without agreeing, call it a notice.
- Forgetting accommodations. AI assessments can disadvantage candidates with disabilities; make the route to an adjustment visible, not buried.
- Letting it go stale. Vendors ship new features. Review the notice when a tool changes and at least yearly.
For the internal policy that sits behind these notices, see how to use AI in recruiting responsibly.
Questions people ask
Is there a law requiring employers to disclose AI use to candidates?
There is no general federal one, but several state and local laws do for particular uses. New York City requires notice at least 10 business days before an automated employment decision tool is used, Illinois requires notice, an explanation and consent before AI analyzes applicant video interviews for Illinois-based positions, and California, Colorado and Connecticut have notice duties that start in 2027.
Do we need to disclose an AI note-taker that only transcribes?
The AI hiring notice laws are mostly triggered by tools that score, rank, screen or analyze candidates, not by transcription alone. A transcription tool still needs recording consent, and telling candidates plainly what it does and does not do is good practice and helps with privacy notice duties.
Should the notice ask for consent?
Only where a law requires it or you genuinely offer a choice. Illinois' video interview act requires consent before AI analysis. Elsewhere, notice is usually what is required, and asking for consent you do not really let people refuse can mislead candidates about their options.
What should an AI notice to candidates include?
Say which tool is used and at what stage, what it does and what it evaluates, whether a person makes the decision, what data it uses and how long it is kept, how to request an alternative process or an accommodation, and who to contact. Specific laws add their own items, such as the job qualifications and characteristics under New York City's rule.