Learn how Upwork’s video interviews use AI to collect video responses from freelancers, helping you compare candidates quickly and hire confidently. Note: This feature is not yet available on all job posts.
What are video interviews on Upwork?
Video interviews are an AI-powered way to evaluate freelancers before you connect with them.
When you opt in, Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI, automatically invites freelancers to submit proposals and answer your custom interview questions. Freelancers respond in short videos, which Uma records, transcribes, and summarizes for you. You’ll receive:
- Structured summaries highlighting each freelancer’s key points
- Full video recordings of their answers
- Complete transcripts you can scan or search
This lets you compare candidates side by side — and identify promising freelancers — before sending a message or scheduling a call.
How do I set up video interviews?
You’ll need to opt in before posting, since freelancers will then have to complete a video interview as part of their proposal.
- After you select Finalize job post, you may see the option to require freelancers to complete a video interview via Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI. Note: This feature is not yet available on all job posts.
- Choose Continue, if you'd like to set up video interviews
- Next you’ll see suggested questions. You can:
- Edit or delete questions by hovering and using the icons (save by clicking outside the box or pressing Enter)
- Get more suggestions by selecting Suggest more questions and choosing the ones you want
- Add your own questions by typing them into the text box
- Reorder questions by selecting and dragging them
- You'll see a time estimate in the top right — aim for five to 10 minutes and ask questions that help freelancers show what they can do
- Select Continue and finish posting your job. AI will ask freelancers your questions when they submit a proposal
Where can I review the proposals and interviews from video interviews?
- Go to Hire talent > Job posts and proposals
- Select the Review proposals tab
- You’ll see all the freelancers who completed the interview, each with an interview rating (great, good, or fair). Hover over the rating to learn more
- Select a freelancer to see the interview summary, a video recording with timestamps, and a question-by-question transcript
From there, you can message, interview, or hire freelancers who may be right for your project.
Are AI-powered video interviews required for all job posts when available?
No, they’re optional.
Will using video interviews affect the number of proposals I receive?
Possibly, since freelancers must complete an AI interview to submit a proposal when you enable the feature. Some may choose not to, while others may prefer the interview to writing a cover letter, seeing it as a faster way to share their qualifications with you.
Will freelancers I invite still need to do a video interview if I opt in?
Yes, they’ll still complete a video interview as part of their proposal.
Can I skip results from video interviews and manually select freelancers?
Yes, you can still review all proposals, message freelancers, and hire as usual. You’re in control of who to consider.
If I opt in to video interviews when I post my job, can I turn them off later if I change my mind?
No — you can only opt in or out before you publish your job post. After that, your selection is locked in.
If you change your mind, you can delete the job post and create a new one without video interviews. If you still want to consider freelancers who’ve already submitted proposals, you can invite them to resubmit or send an offer from the new job post.