Google CEO Sundar Pichai on how AI has changed hiring for engineering and programming jobs: We are making sure ...

Google is bringing back in-person interviews after AI-powered cheating has made virtual hiring unreliable, CEO Sundar Pichai announced. "We are making sure we'll introduce at least one round of in-person interviews for people, just to make sure the fundamentals are there," Pichai said on the Lex Fridman podcast in June.The problem has become so widespread that Google employees are demanding management abandon remote interviews entirely, as software engineering interviews, which involve real-time coding challenges, have become increasingly compromised by candidates using AI tools off-camera to generate answers.During a February internal town hall meeting at Google, employees directly confronted leadership about the issue. "Can we get onsite job interviews back?" one employee asked, according to audio recordings reviewed by CNBC. "There are many email threads about this topic. If budget is a constraint, can we get the candidates to an office or environment we can control?"Brian Ong, Google's vice president of recruiting, admitted the company faces a fundamental challenge. While virtual interviews are two weeks faster and easier to schedule, he acknowledged "we definitely have more work to do to integrate how AI is now more prevalent in the interview process."Some hiring managers report that over 50% of candidates are now cheating in virtual technical interviews. The problem has become so severe that interviewers are instructed to probe candidates extensively to determine if they actually understand their answers.Sundar Pichai responded to employee concerns by suggesting a hybrid approach: "Given we all work hybrid, I think it's worth thinking about some fraction of the interviews being in person. I think it'll help both the candidates understand Google's culture and I think it's good for both sides."The challenge extends far beyond Google's headquarters. Ong noted it's "an issue all of our other competitor companies are looking at," highlighting how AI cheating has become an industry-wide crisis threatening the integrity of technical hiring.Anthropic, the maker of AI chatbot Claude, now explicitly prohibits AI use during applications, requiring candidates to demonstrate "non-AI-assisted communication skills" and acknowledge they understand the policy. Amazon has begun requiring candidates to acknowledge they won't use unauthorised tools during interviews, according to company spokesperson who spoke with CNBC.Other major corporations are also implementing new anti-cheating measures. Cisco and McKinsey are among a growing number of companies bringing back or adding face-to-face meetings with candidates at various stages of the interview process. Deloitte reinstated in-person interviews for its UK graduate program.The shift represents a dramatic reversal from pandemic-era hiring practices, forcing companies to choose interview integrity over the convenience and cost savings of virtual recruitment.