AI in Recruitment: Separating the Hype from What Actually Works

Open LinkedIn on any given day and you'll see a dozen posts about how AI is 'transforming recruitment.' The problem is, most of what's being marketed as AI is really just traditional automation with a fresh coat of paint.

What AI isn't

Sending automated emails based on triggers isn't AI. Parsing CVs with keyword matching isn't AI. Chatbots that follow rigid decision trees aren't AI. These tools have their place, but calling them AI sets expectations that they can't meet.

What AI actually is (in this context)

Real AI in recruitment means systems that can understand context, make decisions, and handle unpredictable conversations. A voice agent that can call a candidate, understand their availability, handle objections, and book them into a shift — that's AI. It's doing something that previously required a human.

• Natural language understanding — the system comprehends what someone says, not just matches keywords.
• Dynamic responses — it adapts to what the candidate says rather than following a fixed script.
• Decision-making — it can determine whether a candidate is suitable and take appropriate action.
• Learning — it improves based on outcomes, not just rules.

Where it genuinely helps

The biggest impact we've seen is in high-volume, time-sensitive outreach. Think shift filling for healthcare, logistics, and hospitality. These are scenarios where speed matters, the candidate pool is large, and the conversation is relatively structured.

AI doesn't replace the relationship-building side of recruitment. It handles the repetitive outreach that burns out good consultants, freeing them to focus on the work that actually requires human judgement and empathy.

How to evaluate AI tools

Ask to hear a real call. If the vendor can't show you a recording of their AI handling a genuine candidate conversation, be sceptical. Ask about their data handling — where calls are processed, how recordings are stored, GDPR compliance. And ask what happens when the AI can't handle something — does it fail silently, or does it warm-transfer to a human?

The best AI tools are honest about their limitations. They're designed to handle 80% of routine interactions brilliantly, and to hand off the remaining 20% gracefully. That's not a weakness — that's good engineering.