Article Contents
Introduction
Raju, a brilliant mechanic from a small village in Tamil Nadu. He can fix any engine, but they spoke only in English when he went for a job interview at a big city company.
Raju’s hands, so skilled with tools, suddenly felt clumsy. His words, usually clear and confident in Tamil, got tangled and lost.
He knew the answers, but the language was a wall he couldn’t climb. This isn’t just Raju’s story; it’s the story of millions of talented people in India.
The problem is many companies only interview in English. That means people who are great at their jobs, but not great at English, miss out on opportunities.
It’s like trying to judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, which doesn’t make sense! This language barrier creates a huge gap, leaving good people out and companies without the best talent.
Now, imagine what if Raju could have talked about engines in Tamil, his language? What if the company could understand him perfectly, and see his real skills? That’s where AI comes in.
It’s like having a smart translator who not only understands the words but also the meaning behind them. This technology can make interviews fair for everyone, no matter what language they speak.
The Power of Regional Languages in India
India has many regional languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali etc.
Out of 121 important languages in India, the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution includes 22 languages. Hindi is the most spoken language, with about 43.6% or 52.8 Crore speaker strength.
When someone speaks to you in your mother tongue, it feels like coming home. It’s comfortable, it’s natural. You can express yourself better, and you feel more confident.
This is why it’s so important to have interviews in regional languages. It lets people shine, showing their true abilities without the stress of trying to speak a language they’re not comfortable with.
Imagine a young woman from a village in Gujarat. She’s applying for a job in a local textile factory. She knows everything about the different fabrics and designs, but when the interviewer asks her questions in English, she struggles to find the right words.
If the interview was in Gujarati, her skills would be crystal clear, and the company would see her true potential.
AI-Powered Interviews: Breaking Language Barriers
AI can hear someone talking in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, or Gujarati, and understand every word.
It’s like having a translator who not only knows the language but also understands the different ways people talk in their accents, their slang, everything! Then, it can even talk back in the same language, asking questions and having a conversation.
This is great because it means organizations can interview many people at the same time, without needing several human interviewers. It’s faster, fairer, and cheaper.
Plus, AI doesn’t get tired or bored, so everyone gets the same chance. It’s like having a robot that’s always patient and always focused.
Imagine an organization that wants to hire hundreds of people for a call center in Maharashtra. They can use AI to conduct interviews in Marathi, and the AI can even check how well the candidates speak and understand the language.
It can also ask questions about customer service and problem-solving, all in Marathi. This way, they can find the best people quickly and easily.
Benefits of AI Interviews in Regional Language
By using interviews in regional languages, you can scale up easily. For example, if you need to conduct thousands of interviews in Hindi, advanced AI can help.
The AI will talk to the candidate in Hindi, ask relevant questions, gather necessary information, and assess the candidate’s skills for the job.
At the end of the interview, the AI will provide unique ratings for each candidate. This helps you analyze their performance effectively.
AI interviews in regional languages remove the need for an interviewer or expert who speaks that language.
With advanced AI technology, you can evaluate thousands of candidates at once without worrying about language bias or needing a specific person to be present.
Scalability:
AI can conduct hundreds or thousands of interviews simultaneously, significantly reducing recruitment time.
Remove Bias:
AI eliminates human biases, ensuring that all candidates are evaluated based on their skills and qualifications.
Consistency:
AI provides a standardized interview experience, ensuring that all candidates are asked the same questions and evaluated using the same criteria.
Cost Effectiveness:
Automating the interview process reduces the need for human interviewers, lowering recruitment costs.
See how AI can save costs compared to traditional manual interviews as the number of interviews increases.
AI Interviews: ₹100
Manual Interviews: ₹300
Cost Saving: ₹200
Time Saved: 0 hrs
How AI Conducts Interviews
Imagine a human interviewer. They listen, understand, and respond. AI does something similar, but it uses technology to do it.
First, there’s Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR).
Think of ASR as the AI’s “ears.” When someone speaks in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, or Gujarati, ASR listens and turns those spoken words into written text.
It’s like a super-fast typist, but instead of typing from a keyboard, it’s typing what it hears. This is crucial because computers understand text better than spoken words.
The more diverse the spoken data that the ASR is trained on, the more accurate it can be at transcribing various accents and dialects.
Next, the AI needs to understand what the text means. That’s where Natural Language Processing (NLP) comes in.
NLP is like AI’s “brain.” It analyzes the written text, looking at the grammar, the way sentences are put together (syntax), and the actual meaning of the words (semantics).
It’s not just about knowing the words; it’s about understanding the context. For example, NLP can tell the difference between “I’m going to the bank” (a financial institution) and “I’m going to the river bank” (the edge of a river). This understanding is vital for the AI to respond appropriately.
Finally, the AI needs to talk back. That’s where Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology comes in.
TTS is like the AI’s “voice.” It takes the AI’s response, which is in text form, and turns it into spoken words in the candidate’s language.
It’s like a robot that can read out loud, but it sounds natural and human-like. To make the AI even better, it’s trained in huge amounts of regional language speech and text.
This training is like teaching the AI a new language. The more examples it sees and hears, the better it gets at understanding and responding. This is how AI can conduct interviews in regional languages, making them fair and accessible for everyone.
Further Readings:
- How to Conduct an Admission Interview: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Top 5 AI Interview Tools for Students and Colleges
- Top 10 AI Interview Tools for Efficient Recruitment in 2025
Regional Language Interviews: Practical Applications
Think of a young man in a village in Uttar Pradesh who’s applying for a government job. He needs to know a lot about local laws and policies, and he can explain everything perfectly in Hindi.
AI can conduct an oral exam, asking him questions in Hindi and checking his answers. This way, his knowledge is tested fairly, without the barrier of English.
In Tamil Nadu, many tech companies are looking for skilled programmers. AI can ask technical questions in Tamil, allowing candidates to explain their coding skills in their language. This ensures that the companies find the best programmers, no matter their English level.
In Gujarat, a marketing company can use AI to interview candidates in Gujarati, checking their communication skills and creativity in their native tongue.
These examples show how AI can be used in many different ways. It’s not just about asking questions; it’s about understanding people, their skills, and their potential.
It’s about making sure everyone gets a fair chance, no matter where they come from or what language they speak.
- Conduct interviews virtually at your convenience.
- Assess multiple skills with detailed feedback and rating.
- Eliminate bias and errors in assessing candidate skills.
- Record responses and evaluate them later as per your time.
Overcoming Challenges and Looking Ahead
Now, AI isn’t perfect. Sometimes, it might make mistakes, like misunderstanding a word or phrase. This is because languages are complex, with many different ways of saying things.
But just like a child learning to walk, AI gets better with practice. The more it listens and learns, the smarter it gets.
We also need to make sure AI is fair. We don’t want it to have any biases, like favoring one accent over another.
This means we need to train it with lots of different voices and languages, so it understands everyone equally. And, we still need people to check the AI’s work, to make sure everything is fair and accurate.
Looking ahead, AI is going to change the way we hire people. It’s going to make interviews more personal, like having a friendly conversation.
It might even use virtual reality to create realistic job scenarios, so candidates can show their skills in action. And, as AI gets better, it will understand more and more languages and dialects, making it even easier for people to find the right jobs.
Check out these deep dives for more details
- A Leading University’s Shift to AI Interviews
- AI Interviews: How AI is Transforming Recruitment & Hiring in 2025
Conclusion
Imagine a future where everyone has a fair chance to show their skills, no matter what language they speak. That’s the future AI can help us create.
It’s not just about technology; it’s about making our workplaces more inclusive, more diverse, and more fair. It’s about recognizing the talent that exists in every corner of India.
So, let’s embrace this change.
