From the initial reading of resumes to final interview rounds, hiring can be complex and time-consuming — for both human resource (HR) managers and candidates alike. Enter the artificial intelligence (AI) interviewer.

Today’s increasingly sophisticated models can scan resumes and CVs, assess candidates’ skills through gamified tests, ask core questions about the job in video- and text-based interactions, and even analyze body language and vocal tone to identify character traits.

Ultimately, experts say AI is set to revolutionize the hiring process, although many acknowledge that the technology is still nascent, so it’s critical to keep humans involved in the process.

“Given that skills-based hiring is the future, using AI to both assess and evaluate candidates (on the employer’s side) and to help candidates differentiate themselves more clearly, can significantly improve the hiring process for everyone involved,” Sara Gutierrez, chief science officer at talent recruitment company SHL, explained.

Screening candidates, streamlining hiring processes According to a recent study from Resume Builder, 43% of companies already have or plan to adopt AI interviews in 2024, with the majority reporting that the technology will increase hiring efficiency.

Experts note that AI can support various aspects of the hiring process, beginning with sourcing. Models can search job boards, databases and social media platforms and can quickly sift through thousands of applications to identify relevant candidates. From there, they can screen the best potentials through resume parsing and identify red flags that could indicate that job seekers may be incompatible with a particular role.

Further, AI could perform pre-screening interviews through video calls and text-based interactions that assess strengths and weaknesses. These can be recorded and analyzed to identify those who should be brought back for a second round of interviews. For instance, AI-powered analysis of voice and facial expressions can help provide more context around a job seeker’s personality.

All told, this can help speed up the hiring process and improve cost per hire, experts say. Some also attest that AI can help companies overcome recruitment bias (while others say the opposite is true).

“It’s no surprise that companies are investing in AI interviews as they continue to try to streamline the interview process,” Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at Resume Builder, said. “I personally don’t believe that human interaction can ever be replaced, but if companies believe this will help them screen candidates effectively, we will see this practice continue to grow.”

Impersonal, wonky, biased But many identify drawbacks to AI use in hiring. To start, candidates have reported that it is impersonal, wonky and biased.

AI lacks personal touch and intuition and is limited because it works off parameters that may overlook good candidates who do not exactly match the criteria fed into the system, according to Recruiter.com. Further, there are concerns that AI could infringe on privacy rights as it collects, stores and analyzes personal data, and that unconscious bias could still creep in.

“Like the onset of all new systems, it remains to be seen how efficient AI interviews really are in the long run,” Haller said. “Some candidates may be turned off by this type of interviewing as well.”

Recruiters for now prefer to keep humans in the loop. The majority of respondents (85%) to the Resume Builder survey said that they would use AI for recommendations, but humans would still make final hiring decisions. Similarly, respondents to a Pew Research survey opposed AI use in final hiring decisions by a wide margin.

Interestingly, more than half of respondents to the Resume Builder survey said they believe AI will eventually replace human hiring managers.

The top reasons respondents gave for not incorporating AI, meanwhile, were that they preferred to directly interface with applicants and that they were wary of unknown outcomes and risks.

“Human judgment and intuition still play a critical role in the hiring process,” Recruiter.com urges. “As such, the future of recruitment lies not just in AI but in the synergy between AI and human intelligence. This combination will lead to a more efficient, fair and candidate-friendly recruitment process, helping companies attract and hire the right talent.”

How are candidates using AI tools? Naturally, candidates are exploring AI in their job searches. Models can help pull out keywords in job descriptions to include in resumes, analyze tone, length, provide phrasing suggestions and rewrite sentences to be more concise or creative. This can all help a job seeker to save time and tailor resumes to multiple job postings.

Still, as with AI interviewers, AI writing resumes, CVs or summarizing work experience can lack authenticity, come off as dry and robotic and be a little too wordy or purple at times, experts point out. Also, because it isn’t trained on new data, it might not know to use certain buzzwords and jargon, can get information wrong and could also provide copy that is plagiarized.

Recruiters may also think it’s lazy when they identify candidates who have used AI — while others might see it as forward-thinking.

“For us, that’s OK,” Iffi Wahla, CEO and co-founder of global talent network Edge, said. “That shows ingenuity.”

AI preparing candidates for interviews Founded in 2022, Edge is in a niche, emerging market that doesn’t perform interviews — but rather, helps candidates prepare for them.

“There are a lot of smart people who just can't interview well,” Wahla said. “This is just helping them get their nerves in order.”

The company’s platform is built on ChatGPT — and more recently has been leveraging GPT-4o — and is trained on recordings of questions used by businesses that have hired through Edge. Through mock interviews and repetition, candidates can improve the way they present to and interact with potential employers, Wahla explained. Personality tests also focus on soft skills and communication skills that can help employers determine candidates’ creativity and how well they think on their feet.

“Our platform is really built for the professionals globally who are super smart, who have the qualifications, but who are in emerging markets and their local economies can't keep up with their ambition,” Wahla said.

Edge also has certifications and training built in to help speed onboarding processes when candidates do get hired. Wahla said that the platform has helped businesses decrease onboarding by about 50%, adding that “90% of people can do 90% of jobs globally” with the right certifications, backgrounds and training.

“We find that people who are more creative, who can think out of the box, communicate better, typically perform better in most jobs,” Wahla said.