Compliance brief / US state law

Illinois AI Video Interview Act. Consent. Notice. Sharing. Destruction.

Illinois has had AI-in-hiring rules on the books since 2020. If you record video interviews with applicants for Illinois positions and use AI to analyze them, four obligations apply: notice, consent, restricted sharing, and timely destruction. Reporting obligations on race and ethnicity apply where AI is the sole hiring filter.

By Northbeams editorial · Last updated 2026-05-10 · 5 min read

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TLDR

On this page

  1. 01 Who's covered
  2. 02 The four core obligations
  3. 03 Demographic reporting
  4. 04 Evidence to keep on file
  5. 05 How Northbeams maps to this
  6. 06 FAQ

01 / Who's covered

Recorded video plus AI analysis plus Illinois positions.

Three conditions trigger the law. All three must be present:

  1. You record an asynchronous or recorded video interview with an applicant.
  2. You use artificial intelligence to analyze that video for hiring purposes.
  3. The position is in Illinois, regardless of whether the applicant is.

Live, non-recorded interviews are out of scope. Recordings without AI analysis are out of scope. AI-driven scheduling, resume screening, and chat-based screening fall under different legal regimes; the Video Interview Act is specifically about AI scoring of recorded video.

02 / The four core obligations

Notice. Consent. Sharing. Destruction.

1. Notice.

Tell the applicant, before the interview, that AI may be used to analyze the video. Explain how the AI works in general terms and what characteristics it considers (for example, facial expressions, word choice, tone). The notice should be in plain language.

2. Consent.

Get the applicant's consent before AI analyzes the recorded interview. Consent should be express and tied to the specific use. Bundling AI-analysis consent into a general "I agree to terms" checkbox is not best practice.

3. Restricted sharing.

Share the video only with people whose expertise or technology is necessary to evaluate the applicant for the position. The vendor running the AI counts. The hiring manager counts. Random recipients in the company do not.

4. Destruction.

Destroy the video, including all backups, within 30 days of an applicant's request. The destruction obligation runs to all copies you control, not just the primary file. Vendor contracts should obligate the AI vendor to comply with destruction requests passed through.

03 / Demographic reporting

Sole-AI hiring triggers an annual report.

If your company relies solely on AI to determine which applicants advance to in-person interviews, you must annually report to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO):

The reporting requirement was added to the original act to let the state monitor for disparate impact in AI-driven hiring. If a human reviewer evaluates the AI's output before deciding who advances, the "sole-AI" trigger does not apply.

04 / Evidence to keep on file

A short list of artifacts.

  1. Notice template. The exact language you give applicants. Versioned, dated.
  2. Consent record. Per applicant, dated, tied to the specific video interview.
  3. Sharing log. Who accessed the video, when, and the role basis for access.
  4. Destruction log. Per request, with a confirmation that all copies (including vendor copies) were destroyed within 30 days.
  5. Sole-AI determination memo. Whether your hiring workflow includes meaningful human review. Updated when the workflow changes.
  6. Annual DCEO report if applicable.

05 / How Northbeams maps to this

Inventory the AI tool. Log the use.

The Illinois law is narrow but specific. Northbeams supports the operational side: knowing which AI hiring tools your team uses and producing the audit log that lets you answer the AG quickly.

AI inventory

Discover hiring AI in use.

Tools that score video interviews show up in the dashboard the day a recruiter runs them. No quarterly survey required.

Use log

Per-tool, per-user, per-time.

The signed audit log shows who used the tool and when. The IL AG's "show me the use" question has an export attached.

Vendor-risk integration

Track AI vendors against your contract obligations.

If you require AI vendors to honor destruction requests, the inventory makes it visible when a non-contracted vendor enters the workflow.

Cross-state reuse

One evidence pack across states.

The Illinois evidence overlaps with the Colorado AI Act, the Texas TRAIGA discrimination audit, and the EU AI Act high-risk system documentation. Build once.

If your hiring stack uses AI and your company has Illinois positions, the audit-prep page shows the full evidence pack.

06 / FAQ

Common questions about Illinois AI in interviews.

Does the Illinois AI Video Interview Act apply to my company?
It applies if you record video interviews with applicants for positions in Illinois and use artificial intelligence to analyze those interviews. It does not apply to live interviews that are not recorded, or to applicants for positions outside Illinois. Both Illinois-based and remote applicants for Illinois positions are covered.
What does "analyze" mean under the Illinois law?
AI analysis covers any algorithmic evaluation of the applicant's facial expressions, tone, word choice, or other interview content for the purpose of scoring, ranking, or screening. A simple recording without AI analysis is not in scope. A vendor that scores "fitness for the role" from the video is in scope.
What are the four core obligations?
Notice: tell applicants AI is being used, what it considers, and how it works. Consent: get the applicant's consent before AI analyzes the video. Sharing: limit access to the video to people whose expertise or technology is necessary to evaluate the applicant. Destruction: destroy the video within 30 days of the applicant's request, including all backups.
Are there reporting obligations for sole-AI hiring?
Yes. Employers that rely solely on AI to determine which applicants advance must report demographic data on race and ethnicity to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity annually, so the state can monitor for disparate impact.
Who enforces the Illinois law?
Enforcement is primarily through the Illinois Attorney General and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the demographic-reporting requirement. Affected applicants may also have private claims under Illinois consumer-protection statutes when paired with a violation.

Related laws and frameworks

US state · ColoradoColorado AI ActBroader employment-decision rules. AI in hiring is a named consequential decision.Read brief → US state · TexasTexas TRAIGADiscrimination prohibitions for AI hiring. Pairs with the Illinois law for multi-state employers.Read brief → US state · CaliforniaCalifornia AI lawsSB 53, AB 2013, SB 942, AB 489, SB 243.Read brief → US state · New YorkNew York RAISE ActTransparency and incident reporting for AI used in New York.Read brief → EUEU AI ActAI in employment is a named high-risk category. Different evidence shape; same audit log usefully covers it.Read brief → HubAI laws field guideEvery law and standard covered in one place.Open hub →

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