If your AI interview assistant is not hearing the interviewer, the meeting is almost always playing through a device the assistant is not listening to. Check the meeting app's output device first, then the meeting volume and mute state, then whether a Bluetooth headset switched profiles. On a Mac, confirm screen recording permission. If captions stopped after a quiet stretch, the 10-minute idle pause has kicked in and Ctrl+Shift+L resumes listening. Then network, then a restart. While you work through the list, keep answering from your preparation; the interviewer cannot see the assistant and has noticed nothing.
First, keep the interview going
A silent assistant costs you nothing unless you go silent too. Say "let me think about that for a second," then answer from your own preparation. You already answered a version of most questions in your mock interviews, and your resume is open in another window. Fix the audio between questions, not in the middle of one, and never narrate the problem to the interviewer. Our page on what to do if your AI interview assistant stops working covers the other failure types; this one is specifically about captions that never appear or stop appearing.
The seven fixes, most likely first
- Output device. Open the meeting app's audio settings and look at Speaker. If it names a monitor, a TV, a dock or a headset you are not wearing, switch it to the device you tested with. The assistant listens to the computer's audio output, so sound going to a device the system is not using as output never reaches it. Our system audio capture guide explains the mechanism.
- Meeting volume and mute. A meeting tab muted in the browser, a volume slider at zero, or the meeting app's own speaker toggle off all produce silence. You may still hear the interviewer through a second device while the computer's output is silent.
- Bluetooth profile. When a Bluetooth headset's microphone activates, many headsets drop to a low-quality hands-free profile and briefly disappear as an output. Audio moves to the laptop speakers or stops. Re-select the headset, or plug in wired headphones.
- macOS permissions. The assistant needs screen recording permission to hear the computer's audio and microphone permission to hear you. Check System Settings, Privacy & Security. Our macOS permissions guide covers the case where you clicked Deny once.
- The idle pause. After 10 minutes with no voice, listening pauses. This happens in quiet coding stretches or while you waited on hold. Press Ctrl+Shift+L (Cmd on a Mac) to resume. Captions start within a sentence.
- Network. Audio is streamed in short segments for transcription, so a dropped connection stops captions even though you still hear the interviewer. Check Wi-Fi, switch to a phone hotspot if needed, and press Ctrl+Shift+A for an answer once captions return.
- Restart the assistant. Quit and reopen it, then press Ctrl+Shift+L. This clears a stuck audio device after a dock or headset change.
Symptom to fix at a glance
| What you see | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No captions from the start | Output device or permissions | Fixes 1 and 4 |
| Captions stopped when the headset connected | Bluetooth profile switch | Fix 3 |
| Captions stopped after a long silence | 10-minute idle pause | Ctrl+Shift+L |
| You hear the interviewer, assistant hears nothing | Muted tab or second output device | Fixes 1 and 2 |
| Captions lag, then stop | Network | Fix 6 |
On Windows, the sound settings guide shows where each of these lives.
The 2-minute test before the next call
- Put on the headphones you will wear. Open the meeting app and play its test sound, or play any video with speech.
- Confirm the assistant shows captions within a second or two and an answer about 2 seconds after the speech pauses.
- Say one sentence into your mic and confirm it does not appear as a question.
- Unplug and replug the headset, then repeat step 2. If captions stop, the system switched output devices and you know what to re-select before the call.
Run it with the same headset and the same meeting app you will use. Most "not hearing the interviewer" reports come from a device change between the test and the call.
Where CoPilot Interview fits
Our AI interview assistant is a desktop window for Windows and macOS that listens to the computer's audio output and your microphone, so it works the same with Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex and anything else that plays sound through the computer, and it never joins the meeting. Audio is streamed in short segments for transcription and is not stored on our servers; a text transcript is saved only in your Documents folder. Prepare with the AI mock interview first, use live help only where it is allowed, and follow your employer's rules on assistance. Disclosure: CoPilot Interview is our product, so weigh what we say about it accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my AI interview assistant not transcribing the interviewer?
Most often the meeting is playing through a device the assistant is not listening to: a monitor, dock or headset other than the system output. Set the meeting app's speaker to the device you tested with. Then check mute and volume, Bluetooth profile, macOS screen recording permission and the 10-minute idle pause.
Captions stopped after a long quiet stretch. Is the app broken?
No. After 10 minutes without voice the assistant pauses listening rather than transcribing an empty room. Press Ctrl+Shift+L, or Cmd+Shift+L on a Mac, to resume. Captions return within a sentence and the session continues.
I can hear the interviewer, so why can't the assistant?
Hearing and capturing are different paths. You may be hearing through a Bluetooth headset while the computer's output device is something else, or the meeting tab may be muted in the browser while a second device plays. Make the meeting app's output the same device the system uses.
What should I say to the interviewer while I fix it?
Nothing about the assistant. Say "let me think about that for a second," answer from your preparation, and adjust the output device between questions. The interviewer sees no change on their end because the assistant is not part of the meeting.
Does a bad connection stop captions?
Yes. Audio is streamed in short segments for transcription, so when the connection drops, captions stop even though the call may continue. Switch to a more reliable network or a phone hotspot, then press Ctrl+Shift+A to get an answer once captions resume.
Make the test a habit
Run the 2-minute check with the same headset and meeting app before every interview.
Download free