Cursor sells AI coding, but its screens allow only autocomplete. OpenAI's allow none.

Photo: Joao on Unsplash

OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Cursor and Perplexity keep AI out of every coding round. 8 of 12 AI labs allow it somewhere or are trying it, Anthropic among them. Which rounds, what they grade, and how big tech compares.

• Cursor sells AI coding, but its screens allow only autocomplete. OpenAI’s allow none.
• 4 of 12 AI labs keep AI out of every coding round: OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Cursor and Perplexity.
• 5 allow it in at least one round (SpaceXAI, Mistral AI, Harvey, Applied Intuition and Cohere); 3 are trying it in some loops: Anthropic, Sierra and Together AI.
• Big tech allows AI more: 7 of 8 big tech and other tech companies allow or trial AI, against 8 of 12 AI labs.
• Where AI is allowed, those rounds grade explaining what you shipped and a working result more than anything else.

4 of 12 AI labs keep AI out of every coding round

AI labs by their AI policy across the whole loop, where candidates, public guides or the company state one. At Cursor, its CEO says the first technical screens allow no AI other than autocomplete; whether the onsite project allows it is not confirmed. 11 AI labs have no stated policy and are left out.

Big tech allows AI more than the AI labs do

The same policies for big tech and other tech companies (Nvidia, Stripe, Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Uber and Snowflake). 88% of them allow or trial AI in at least one round, against 67% of the AI labs.

At the AI labs, the coding round is where AI comes in most

The rounds where each AI lab allows AI, or trials it in some loops. A practical round is building or fixing something real.

Those rounds grade explaining what you shipped, then a working result

What the 8 AI lab rounds that allow or trial AI say they grade, by theme. A round can grade more than one thing.

What this means for your prep

1. Practice unaided first. OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Cursor and Perplexity keep AI out of their coding rounds.
2. Practice with an assistant too. At SpaceXAI, Mistral AI and Harvey, at least one round allows it.
3. Ask which rounds allow AI. At 3 labs it depends on the loop, and rules change fast, so ask your recruiter for each round.
4. Where AI is allowed, get to a working result and be ready to explain every line.

   Methodology

   The loops of 37 tech companies, round by round, from candidate reports, public guides and company statements, checked in October 2026: 23 AI labs (frontier labs and AI-native companies) and 14 big tech and other tech companies. A company counts as allowing AI when at least one round does; as trying it when only some loops, sessions or pilots do; as keeping AI out when every stated round does (autocomplete aside). Grade themes come from keyword rules over each round’s description.

   Limits: policies change fast and differ by team and level, and prep guides contradict each other; where a company has spoken, its word wins. Confirm with your recruiter.

   How we made this: Land the Lab sorted each round’s stated policy. The charts are generated from that data; the text was drafted with AI and checked against it.

Originally published at landthelab.com, where every company's interview loop is mapped round by round.