How does Interview Sidekick work? You set up a session with the company, role, job description and your résumé, then run it in the desktop app (which records your computer's audio), in Chrome (where you share the meeting tab with audio) or next to a phone on speaker; you click Record, and when the interviewer asks a question you click Gen and a tailored answer appears in a couple of seconds. As of October 2026, the free Basic plan gives you a 2-minute test session, and the paid Ultimate plan is listed at $160 a month, or $80 with the promo code shown on its site.
Disclosure: we make CoPilot Interview, which competes with Interview Sidekick. The facts below come from its own site at interviewsidekick.com, its step-by-step setup guide and its terms of service, all checked on October 20, 2026. Our Interview Sidekick review covers whether it's worth paying for; this page explains how it runs.
How does Interview Sidekick work, step by step
Interview Sidekick's guide splits the product into five parts: profile setup, the live interview assistant, mock interview practice, interview prep and a question bank. A live session runs like this:
- Sign in. Choose Continue with Google, or enter your email to get a sign-in link. The desktop app uses the same account and asks for a 6-digit code instead of a link.
- Start a session. From the dashboard, click Start test session (free) or Start interview session, then fill in Company, Role and First Name. If you're interviewing in another language, pick it under Interview Language; the guide says 31 languages are supported.
- Paste the job description. Up to 8,000 characters. You can skip it, but the guide says this is what makes answers sound specific to the role.
- Add your résumé. Upload a PDF up to 5 MB or paste up to 8,000 characters of text. You can reuse one from an earlier session; without a résumé, answers are generic.
- Add extra context (optional). Tick up to 5 documents from your Context Library, 20,000 characters in total, tagged as Background Info (projects, metrics, stories) or Instructions / Rules. Then launch the session.
- Connect the audio. How depends on where the interview happens; see the table below.
- Record, then Gen. Click Record before the interviewer starts. When a question is asked, click Gen (or press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter). You can also type into the "Add context or ask" box to steer an answer.
- Switch Code on for coding rounds. Answers then come back as working code with complexity notes; the language defaults to Auto.
- Review afterwards. Interviews are saved as transcripts, with performance feedback.
If you want it hands-free, Auto-Generate Answer (off by default) writes an answer when the interviewer stops talking. The guide says it needs Transcription Speed set to Fast and an English interview.
How Interview Sidekick hears the interviewer
| Desktop app | Chrome | Phone call | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it hears the call | Automatically, through your computer's audio | When you share the meeting tab with audio | Through your laptop's microphone, with the phone on speaker |
| Works with | Any meeting app | Meetings open in a Chrome tab | Any phone call |
| Setup (per its guide, October 2026) | Mac: macOS 14 or newer; allow Microphone, System Audio and Screen Recording. Windows: allow the microphone and play the call through your default output device | Pick the Chrome tab with your meeting, tick Also share tab audio, click Share | Choose On a phone call; tap Mute while you answer so it focuses on the interviewer |
For the Chrome route, the meeting itself has to run in the browser: the guide tells you to choose Join from Your Browser in Zoom, Continue on this browser in Microsoft Teams, and the browser option in Webex; Google Meet already runs in a tab. Its suggested check before a real interview is a 30-second test with any interview video on YouTube, watching whether the Interviewer audio bar moves.
Answer settings you can change
A gear icon opens Response Settings, which control how answers come back:
- Answer Length: Brief (about 60 to 90 seconds spoken), Balanced (about 2 minutes, the default) or Thorough (about 3 minutes).
- Answer Format: Bullet Points or STAR Format.
- Tone: Professional, Conversational or Direct.
- Custom Format Prompt: your own style rules, up to 2,000 characters.
- Auto-Generate trigger sensitivity: Snappy, Balanced (recommended) or Cautious.
Mock interviews, prep and the question bank
The practice side of Interview Sidekick is substantial, but its guide says Mock Interview Practice is included in paid plans:
- Mock interviews: pick a company and role, then Quick Practice (3 questions, 10 to 15 minutes), Standard Session (5 questions, 20 to 30 minutes) or Comprehensive Prep (8 questions, 35 to 50 minutes). You set the interviewer's role (HR Screening, Hiring Manager, Technical Lead, Executive or Peer) and personality.
- Feedback: depending on your plan, you talk with a live AI voice interviewer or record each answer (up to 3 minutes). Each answer gets a score out of 100 across clarity, structure, specificity and impact, with what to keep and what to fix; voice sessions also show pace, talk-listen ratio and filler words.
- Questions from a job description: paste at least 50 characters of a posting and it generates the questions you're most likely to face.
- Question Bank: 16,000+ questions, each tagged with a company and job type and paired with a suggested answer; searching and filtering need a paid plan. The homepage says they come from 1,200+ companies.
Plans, billing and cancellation
| Plan | Price (as of October 2026) | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Sidekick | Free forever, no credit card | 2-minute test of the real-time assistant; limited interview prep and question bank access |
| Ultimate Sidekick, monthly | $160 a month; $80 a month with the 50%-off code on its site | Unlimited real-time help and mock practice, 16,000+ questions with suggested answers, Code Mode, full transcripts and feedback |
| Ultimate Sidekick, quarterly | $318 per 3 months; $159 with the same code | Same as monthly |
The site adds that discounted plans are available in select regions, so check the renewal price rather than the first payment. Its terms say subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing cycle, that you cancel through your account settings before the period ends, and that Interview Sidekick "does not automatically cancel subscriptions". The terms we read don't set out a refund policy. Support is by email at ben@interviewsidekick.com. For the full price picture, see our Interview Sidekick pricing guide.
Limits and who Interview Sidekick suits
- The free test is 2 minutes. It confirms your audio works; it can't show how answers hold up across a round.
- Practice is paid. Mock interviews are part of the paid plans.
- Hands-free mode is English-only. In other languages you click Gen yourself.
- The Chrome route needs a browser meeting. Desktop meeting apps need the desktop app.
- Macs need macOS 14 or newer for the desktop app, per its guide.
Interview Sidekick suits you if you want a large bank of company-tagged questions, take phone screens, or interview in one of its 31 languages. It's a weaker fit if you want free practice every day, because both the live test and the practice tools are limited on the free plan.
Whatever tool you use, follow the rules of the employer or assessment you're in — many people use it only to practice, which works on the free plan.
Interview Sidekick vs CoPilot Interview: how the workflow differs
| CoPilot Interview | Interview Sidekick (as of October 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Desktop app for Windows 10+ and macOS 12+ | Desktop app (macOS 14+, Windows), Chrome, phone call setup |
| Free use | Best choice: 15 minutes every day, sessions up to 15 minutes, all four modes including Mock Interview, no card | 2-minute test session; limited prep and question bank |
| Practice feedback | Best choice: Mock Interview, on the free plan, scores each spoken answer out of 10 with what to fix and a model answer, then a report card | Paid mock interviews scored out of 100 across four areas |
| Question bank | Browser mock with 113 real questions across 9 tracks | 16,000+ questions with suggested answers |
| Month-to-month price | Best choice: Standard $14.99/mo (sale; regular $19.99), 60-minute sessions, up to 100 minutes a day; hour packs from $5.99 | $160/mo, or $80/mo with its promo code |
| Refund | Best choice: 14-day money-back guarantee on the first payment of a new subscription, if under 30 minutes of live session time was used | Not described in its terms |
Disclosure: we make CoPilot Interview.
Interview Sidekick's strengths are real: a much larger question bank, a phone-call setup and a Chrome option for machines where you can't install software. For more, see CoPilot Interview vs Interview Sidekick, our Interview Sidekick alternatives, Interview Sidekick vs Parakeet AI or the AI interview assistant comparison.
Get more than a 2-minute test
Run a free AI mock interview in your browser: 113 real questions across 9 tracks, nothing to install. The desktop app's free plan gives you 15 minutes every day, and Mock Interview scores each spoken answer out of 10.
Try a free AI mock interviewFAQ
Is Interview Sidekick free?
Partly. As of October 2026, the free Basic Sidekick plan gives you a 2-minute test of the real-time assistant plus limited interview prep and question bank access, with no credit card. Mock interview practice and unlimited sessions need the paid Ultimate plan.
How much does Interview Sidekick cost?
As of October 2026, Ultimate Sidekick is listed at $160 a month, shown as $80 a month with the 50%-off code on its site, or $318 per 3 months, shown as $159 with the same code. The site also says discounted plans are available in select regions.
How does Interview Sidekick hear the interviewer?
It depends on where you run it. The desktop app records your computer's audio, so it works with any meeting app. In Chrome, you share the meeting tab with Also share tab audio ticked. For a phone call, your laptop's microphone hears the phone on speaker.
Does Interview Sidekick answer automatically?
Not by default. You click Record before the interviewer starts and click Gen (or press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter) when a question is asked. Auto-Generate Answer is an optional setting, and the setup guide says it needs Fast transcription speed and an English interview.
Does Interview Sidekick have mock interviews?
Yes, on paid plans. You choose 3, 5 or 8 questions, the interviewer role and personality, and each answer gets a score out of 100 across clarity, structure, specificity and impact, with what to keep and what to fix.
How do I cancel Interview Sidekick?
Its terms say you cancel through your account settings before the current period ends; subscriptions renew automatically, and Interview Sidekick doesn't cancel them for you. The terms we read don't describe a refund policy, so ask support before you buy if that matters.
What languages does Interview Sidekick support?
Its setup guide says 31 interview languages are supported; you pick one under Interview Language when you set up a session. Hands-free Auto-Generate Answer works only for English interviews.