Can You Use AI in a Karat Interview? Rules by Module

It depends on which Karat module the employer assigned. As of September 9, 2026, Karat documents three kinds: modules with a built-in AI assistant you are expected to use, modules that allow external resources which may include generative AI, and modules that allow nothing outside the editor. Across all of them, Karat's Candidate Terms prohibit putting interview content into any AI tool that Karat did not direct you to, and an Interview Engineer is watching in real time. This article sets out the rules Karat publishes, how violations are noticed, and what a flag costs.

The three module types

Karat's Customer FAQ states: "Some of these modules involve the use of a built-in AI Assistant, others allow for the use of external resources which may include genAI tools, while the remaining modules do not allow the use of external resources."

The employer chooses. The Interview Engineer states the rules at the start of the call, and Karat's Candidate Terms of Use make the interviewer's instruction the boundary: "you may use outside sources or the provided AI Assistant (if applicable) when and to the extent explicitly directed by your Karat interviewer."

The default rule for ChatGPT

Where the employer has not opened external resources, Karat's position is narrow and has been stable since its February 2023 policy article: "you are allowed to look up documentation just as you would on the job," but "we do not allow the use of ChatGPT to generate an approach or a solution," and "ChatGPT cannot be used for debugging, just like external IDEs cannot be used." The article also asks for disclosure: "Let your Interview Engineer know when you are looking something up."

Karat's current candidate FAQ repeats the core line: "Using ChatGPT to generate an approach or solution is not allowed." Karat's guide to technical interviews draws the same line in different words: candidates may "use reference materials to answer syntax questions, look up language details, and interpret error outputs from compilers" but should "not look for a full solution or copy and paste code from elsewhere directly into their solution."

What NextGen changes

Karat NextGen inverts the default. Its product page says "Candidates are encouraged and often expected to use Karat's integrated AI assistant to write code, understand the codebase, and augment their overall ability," and in the same breath, "the use of external AI tools is prohibited." You are scored on how you direct the assistant Karat provides. What NextGen measures and how to recognize it is in whether Karat uses an AI interviewer.

What the Candidate Terms prohibit in every module

The Terms apply regardless of module:

• "you must not answer any interview questions using third party assistance"
• you may not input content into "any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or other automated tool" except those "expressly directed by Karat"
• you may not "transfer, copy, or remove the Interview Content from the Karat platform, including by means of copying or screenshotting"

The Customer FAQ lists the same conduct from the employer's side: "using code or language that is not the candidate's original work unless derived from the provided AI Assistant (if applicable); using unauthorized third-party assistance to answer questions; and copying questions outside of the Karat coding environment into search engines or a GPT."

Moving the question out of Karat Studio is itself the violation, before any answer comes back.

How Karat notices

There is no detection software. Karat's integrity model is a person watching a live call and a second person reviewing the recording. The Customer FAQ says each Interview Engineer is trained to report "abnormal candidate behaviors which may indicate cheating, such as typing outside of the browser window without explanation, frequently looking between monitors, or writing code in an unusual top-down or line-by-line manner." Karat's 2025 article on AI in interviews explains the reasoning: "When you're watching someone problem-solve and generate code, it's much easier to see if they are working through a problem or if they are copying down a memorized (or AI-generated) answer."

When a flag is raised, "the interview will be rewatched and reviewed in its entirety by a second IVE specifically trained in Karat's quality control standards." The recording that review uses is described in whether Karat records your screen.

What a violation costs

The Terms state the consequences: "immediate, temporary or permanent withdrawal of your right to use the Karat Platform" and an "integrity flag" visible to employers. A permanent withdrawal matters more than it sounds, because Karat runs screens for many companies; losing access to the platform can close doors at employers you have not applied to yet.

How to find out which module you have

Ask the recruiter in writing before the call: "Which Karat module is this, and does it allow documentation, external resources, or an AI assistant?" The interviewer restates the rules at the start of the call; ask there if anything is unclear. The general method for confirming AI rules before any technical screen is in whether you can use AI during a technical interview.

What this means for candidates

Use only what your module allows, and say when you look something up. In every module, keep the problem inside Karat Studio; pasting it elsewhere is the violation Karat names first. If AI is off limits for your module, use it to practice beforehand and take the interview on your own. For what the recording and report contain, see what a Karat interview records, scores, and keeps.