Artificial intelligence has become part of the fabric of our daily lives—both personally and professionally. Whether it’s AI-powered pricing or healthcare testing, businesses continue to explore new ways to incorporate AI into their daily operations. Companies are also using powerful AI tools when it comes to recruiting. In fact, 64% of HR professionals say talent acquisition is the top way they use AI.
For many organizations, AI has long been a part of the recruiting process—especially in the form of applicant tracking systems (ATS), which have evolved significantly since their inception in the 1990s. Modern ATS solutions now offer enhanced functionality, including the ability to perform job postings, manage CV collections, screen CVs, and provide analytics.
AI can quickly sort through dozens of CVs and identify those that best match keywords in job postings. It can be tempting to rely almost exclusively on AI to identify top candidates for openings. But can AI alone really determine the best fit for a position?
The short answer is no. While AI can do a lot, it is not a human replacement when it comes to hiring.
The long answer is that while AI is a powerful addition to the hiring process, it cannot completely replace the nuanced judgment and related insights that human recruiters bring to the table. The biggest application of AI in the recruitment process today is in the early stages of sourcing and hiring. AI-powered efficiency is a huge advantage, especially for handling multiple applications.
But while AI is highly effective at organizing data and performing repetitive tasks, it lacks the ability to fully understand the subtleties of human interaction and make complex decisions. Especially in roles that require strategic planning, innovative thinking or leadership, AI skills are still incredibly short. Take, for example, product management roles, which require complex decision-making and innovative thinking. It is probably one of the few roles where – especially in the technology industry – the candidate must be both an engineer and a marketer, because he is responsible for the product that will eventually turn into a revenue stream for the company. AI is not a suitable tool for screening for unique or new positions or those that require a combination of skills.
Why do we still need people to hire
Successful recruiting is highly dependent on understanding the dynamic human qualities that data alone cannot capture. Human recruiters excel at assessing soft skills, emotional intelligence, and adaptability—characteristics that are critical to succeeding in the workplace, regardless of the role. In the hiring process, these qualities are revealed through personal interactions, interviews and informal conversations—not through CV keywords or automated tests.
The rapport employers build with recruiting companies, or those internal talent acquisition teams who know innately from working there, gives people the unique ability to match candidates with the organization not only based on both of their skills but also based on the understanding that the candidate will be a good cultural fit. Recruiting is about establishing a relationship, not just matching systems.
In addition, recruiters and HR professionals are able to leverage their industry relationships to tap into a wider network, reaching out to passive individuals who may not be looking for new roles but are a good fit for the organization. This strategic reach and personal engagement are recruiting factors that AI cannot yet replicate. It takes skill and the ability to connect as a person first, and to reach out to someone who would be very happy in their current job, and convince them to look for an open role. Recruiting is both thoughtful and incredibly relatable; it involves actively searching for and connecting with people who are the right fit for the role, as defined in the paper, but who will also have a lasting impact and feel fulfilled in the work they do. It is a science and an art.
Limitations of AI when it comes to hiring
When faced with many candidates with the same qualifications, AI lacks the ability to measure to determine the best fit for a particular organization’s needs and culture. You can’t do market research, which often involves interviewing to gather emotions and other intangibles, or gather sensitive information from people who have worked with someone before. Human recruiters play an important role in this comparative analysis, taking the time to check someone’s background and talking face-to-face with references.
In senior and senior-level roles, the impact of hiring decisions can be far greater and the cost of a wrong move can be significant. In these situations, human judgment is very important. Managers and senior leaders are trusted to make critical decisions, and finding the right person for these positions involves more than just matching qualifications – it requires a deep understanding of how the person will contribute to the culture and change of the organization. This can only be achieved through personal interviews, and subsequent interviews with team leaders who have a vested interest in the role and organization.
When it comes to extending an offer, employers must navigate a variety of circumstances, including budget constraints, travel considerations, benefits issues, and conflicting discounts. In the end, it’s the human touch that will move people to accept an offer, often balancing many competing factors. It goes without saying, but this conversational technology is something that AI doesn’t have yet.
The dangers of overreliance on AI
Relying heavily on AI in the recruitment process comes with risks. Another major concern is algorithmic bias. AI systems are only as biased as the data used to train them, and historical data may contain obvious biases that are amplified by AI, leading to potential biases. This can impact a company’s diversity and inclusion efforts and can lead to highly talented people being overlooked because they didn’t use certain keywords or phrases in their CVs. Legal and compliance risks may arise, particularly in matters of privacy and the ability to make biased decisions without proper human supervision.
How to use AI responsibly
So, what the right way using AI when hiring? The ideal approach is a combination of both AI and human expertise. Here are three things to remember:
Let AI handle data-heavy taskssuch as the initial screening of CVs, handling applications and tracking applicants through the recruitment process. I believe this is where AI can make a big impact and save people a lot of time. By automating repetitive tasks, recruiters and talent acquisition professionals can focus on more strategic tasks, such as engaging with top candidates and refining recruiting strategies.
Leave complex employment evaluations to experienced professionals. People should take the lead in recruiting when it comes to different aspects of the process, including assessing leadership style, emotional intelligence, career aspirations and organizational fit, as well as comparing late candidates. This ensures that critical elements are evaluated with a depth and multifaceted understanding that AI cannot provide today.
Re-evaluate your AI-driven processes periodically. As with any automated process, it’s good practice to test your AI technology to make sure it’s actually capturing the right CVs during the initial CV screening phase. Regular testing helps identify any biases or gaps and ensure that the process evolves with changing job requirements and market conditions.
Think of a time when you were looking for a job and felt qualified for a role, only to be ignored—or worse, never considered at all. Most of us have experienced this frustration at one point or another, and unfortunately, one of the biggest problems with over-reliance on AI is being missed by strong, trained people who aren’t completely attuned to keyword research. This is why I believe that an integrated approach is the best way to ensure that recruitment is always efficient and includes everyone, capturing the right range of talent by using the powerful power of AI and the irreplaceable human touch that is important, especially when it comes to work.
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