In a live interview, an ambiguous question is easy to handle, you ask what the interviewer meant and move on. In an AI-scored round, that option often just isn't there, and candidates who expect it to be tend to freeze when it isn't.

Most formats: no

In a one-way asynchronous video interview, there's no interviewer on the other end to hear a clarifying question in the first place. You get a question, a limited amount of preparation time, and a window to record your answer, with no one to react, clarify, or guide the conversation. This is one of the sharpest differences from a live interview, you can't read a reaction, ask a follow-up, or build rapport in the moment. The format assumes you'll interpret the question and answer it as given, ambiguity included.

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How to work around it

Since you can't get clarification, the workaround is to state your interpretation as part of the answer itself. Open by briefly naming which angle of the question you're addressing, for example, "I'll answer this from the perspective of how I handled the technical side of that project," then answer that version clearly. This does two things: it shows the scoring system, and any human reviewing a borderline case, that you understood the question had more than one possible reading, and it keeps your answer focused instead of trying to cover every possible interpretation at once. Anticipating where a question might be ambiguous before you sit down for the round is worth more preparation time than most candidates give it.

When you actually can ask something

A few formats allow a limited version of this. Some AI voice phone screens will let you say you didn't catch the question and have it repeat, though that's different from getting an actual clarification, since the system is following a fixed script either way. If a live, human-led round follows the AI stage, that's where real clarifying questions become available again, and it's worth saving genuinely open questions for that conversation rather than assuming any AI-driven stage will accommodate them.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I ask a clarifying question during a one-way video interview?
No. There is no interviewer present to hear or respond to a question in real time, so you get the question, a limited prep window, and must answer without any clarification.
What should I do if an AI interview question seems ambiguous?
State your interpretation out loud at the start of your answer, for example by saying which angle of the question you are addressing, then answer that version clearly rather than leaving your interpretation unstated.
Can I ask questions during an AI voice phone screen?
Usually not in the sense of getting a real answer back, since the system is following a fixed script, though some setups will let you say you do not understand and repeat the question.
Will not asking a clarifying question hurt my score?
Not directly, since the format itself does not expect or reward a clarifying question. What matters is whether your answer is clear, relevant, and addresses the question as asked.