"What AI tools does your company use?"

This is a question you should be ready to answer.

Picture this…

You’re in your office, running the fourth interview of the day, and things are not looking very promising. But, wait a minute! This person in front of you, seems to be hitting all the right notes!

You’re sitting across from a sharp-eyed Gen Z candidate, eager to work and grow. You can see it in their eyes, they’re hungry to give it their best shot. The interview’s been going well. They’ve been answering your questions amazingly, so you’re feeling quite good with this person. Near the end of the interview now.

As a good interviewer, you ask them if they have any questions for you, feeling prepared to give them a rundown of the company’s values, missions, blah blah, the values, maybe even dish out some more vague info about what the job entails but careful enough to not give out too many specifics, and confident enough to dance around their specific salary questions.

And then this questions drops: “What AI tools would I be using in this position?”

Silence.

“Well… we use the free version of ChatGPT sometimes.”

Cue awkward blinking. You might as well have said, “We still use dial-up internet”.

Welcome to the moment you just lost your credibility (and that person, for that matter).

Let’s address the AI elephant in the room

Yes, everyone’s talking about AI. AI this, AI that.

It’s THE buzzword. It’s in every boardroom, on every podcast, and in every thought leader’s post. And yeah, if you’re naturally skeptical, it probably sounds like just another corporate trend, another bandwagon everyone’s scrambling to jump on before it fizzles out like a wet firecracker.

But here’s the difference: this one isn’t going away.

This article isn’t about chasing trends, it’s about staying relevant. It’s about operating efficiently. It’s about not becoming the next business that future case studies use as an example of “what not to do”.

Because if you’re not adopting AI, at least to some degree, you’re either going to fall behind or start struggling. Soon. Not five years from now. Not in some hypothetical future. I’m talking next quarter, next round of hiring, next round of clients.

This isn’t about AI. It’s about your mindset.

Let’s be honest: the question the job candidate asked isn’t really about AI tools. It’s about culture. It’s about progress. It’s about how willing your business is to evolve, experiment, and engage with the present, which we all know inevitably turns into today, tomorrow.

Because when someone asks what AI tools you use, what they’re really asking is:

• Are you curious as a company? Do you explore and pursue innovation in every part of the business?

• Are you up-to-date? Do you provide your people with the best tools to get their jobs done?

• Are you building a team that adapts and grows, or one that clings to whatever’s free and comfortable? Do you care about your employees’ growth beyond the mere output of their work?

  
  

When your best answer is “uhhh… ChatGPT free?”, you’re irrelevant. To them.

Your company’s toolbox says a lot about your culture

It really does. Because your toolbox and how you approach AI in general, speaks more about your culture than any branded value poster or carefully-polished induction video ever could.

And based on your answer, the candidate ponders:

• “Do I want to grow here?”

• “Will I grow here?”

• “Will this place stay ahead of the game?”

• “Are they building for the future or just surviving today?”

  
  

Make no mistake: that question will come.

Especially from younger candidates. Gen Z grew up with AI baked into their lives. Asking them to join a workplace that hasn’t even scratched the surface of what’s possible is like offering a Netflix subscription on DVD.

If you can’t articulate how your team is leveraging AI to be better, then what exactly are you selling them? More meetings? More paperwork? Another rusty Excel sheet someone named “MASTER_FINAL_v3_REAL_FINAL.xlsx”?

No one’s saying you need to build your own Jarvis or become the next OpenAI lab. You don’t have to automate your whole business. But you do need to show that you’re exploring, testing, trying. That you’re not afraid to break stuff, learn fast, and rebuild stronger.

And in 2025, that might just be the biggest selling point you’ve got.

So, before your next interview…

Ask yourself:

• What tools are we actually using to work smarter?

• What processes have we upgraded using automation or AI?

• Who in our team is learning about this stuff, who’s being left behind, and why?

Because next time a candidate asks, “What AI tools do you use?”, you’ll either have an answer that earns their respect, or you’ll be the reason they politely ghost your offer and join someone who gets it.

Stay curious. Stay relevant. Stay growing.