Alexa, Find Me a New Job! Exploring the Role of Recruiting Chatbots in Talent Acquisition

For jobseekers, AI tools deliver feedback faster than they otherwise might receive. For recruiters, the sheer volume of candidates these tools can screen is impressive.But can you trust AI-powered recruiting chatbots?

With 20% of American households owning a smart speaker like Amazon’s Alexa-enabled Echo devices, that simple request isn’t altogether out-of-this-world.

The ease with which we’re adapting to AI-powered devices suggests we’d be willing to hand over even the most impactful decisions like finding a new career or searching for top talent. And, in fact, the reality of this scenario is already alive with the introduction of recruiting chatbots – or “smart recruiters”.

For example, meet Mya .Or Olivia , Alex , Ari… The list goes on.

In the same way that Alexa connects with your day-to-day routines, each of these smart recruiting assistants leverages natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to engage with candidates. From the moment a candidate views a job ad or career page, a recruiting bot has the ability to interact with them and assist in the application, screening, and interviewing processes. Recruiting chatbots also integrate with existing ATS or CRM platforms, and even email, job boards, calendars, video conferencing tools, and more, with comprehensive, end-to-end support.

For jobseekers, these AI tools deliver feedback and answers faster than they otherwise might from the companies they apply with. For recruiters and corporate talent acquisition professionals, the sheer amount of time and volume of candidates these tools can screen is impressive, enabling them to focus on more complex, valuable recruiting tasks.

But can you really trust AI-powered recruiting chatbots?

Consider this: almost every AI-powered device on the market has been humanized by its manufacturer; Alexa, Siri, and Cortana, just to name a few. The reality that AI-powered recruitment tools have taken the same route, using human names to identify them, says something important about what people value in their interactions. In short, as impressive as artificial intelligence is, people don’t really want to think that they’re essentially talking to a robot. They still want the human element.

But even as recruiting chatbots appear more and more human, their core purpose or raison d’être is most assuredly not. Despite the power of machine learning and natural language processing, chatbots are still ultimately programmed to facilitate placements. No matter how intelligently and objectively this occurs, it lacks real-life relationship building and intuition-based decision-making that are essential to successful recruiting.

How do we know? Take a look at these examples, recently published in our “Real Stories from Real Recruiters” series:

Machine learning is smart, but intelligence doesn’t replace intuition and experience-backed insight. That’s where real-life relationships with knowledgeable and dedicated recruiters are superior. Yes, AI-powered recruiting chatbots are highly valuable in freeing up time and keeping candidates in the loop, but highly experienced, intuitive recruiters are irreplaceable.

Who’s in charge of your talent acquisition process? Our latest eBook explores this topic at a deeper level. Grab your copy of “AI in Hiring: The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread?” here.