It’s “here, it’s real, it’s embedded” – NBC New York

Applying for jobs is part of Paloma Canseco’s regular routine right now, talking to an interactive AI-powered recruiter on the phone is not.

But it might be soon.

After filling out a job application in mid-October, the New York-based graphic designer told CNBC Make It that he soon found himself on the phone with a voice that described itself as a “virtual recruiter.”

The call began with basic questions such as whether he was allowed to work in the US and whether he had a bachelor’s degree. She knew she hadn’t spoken to a living person on the phone and assumed that the voice at the end of the line was simply reciting pre-recorded questions, “but then the voice felt very natural, which was kind of scary, like very human,” Canseco says.

She noticed that the voice interacted with her, giving responses like “‘Oh, that’s really interesting’ or ‘Oh, that’s perfect for what we’re looking for’.” That’s when he says he clicked, he wasn’t just on the phone with a robot, the robot was using artificial intelligence to perform the control.

“When it called, I said, ‘Is that true?'” Canseco says. “I couldn’t tell if it was a real person or software or AI. It was very hard to say.”

After a few basic questions, the virtual recruiter asked her to recall her last design experience. That’s when Canseco says he hung up: “If a company isn’t going to spend five minutes even checking someone out, then that’s probably not the kind of culture I’m looking for right now.”

After posting his experience on LinkedInshe says several people have contacted her sharing similar experiences with “interactive” AI recruiters — one person told her it happened to them four months ago, with the same company.

AI in recruitment is ‘here, real and embedded’

AI in recruiting is a relatively new phenomenon, but companies are already using it to varying degrees.

“It’s definitely here, it’s real, it’s embedded,” says Brent Orsuga, founder of Pinnacle Growth Advisors, a recruiting firm specializing in supply chain and logistics companies.

In October, Chipotle announced its own AI recruiter, called “Ava Cado,” which will help hiring managers schedule interviews, gather background information, and answer questions about the company.

Ava Cado is powered by AI recruiting software company Paradox, which serves more than 1,000 clients globally, including Amazon, McDonald’s, General Motors and Pfizer, according to at his website. Chipotle’s AI recruiter will not review resumes or conduct live interviews, a company spokesperson told CNBC Make It.

While many companies choose to use AI as a planning and logistics tool in the recruitment process, driving self-recorded interview platforms that Spark rental and HireVue say they are integrating AI into their video screening software. Companies like Apriora take it a step further by offering AI interviewers capable of conducting responsive video interviews in real time.

Interactive AI interviews will be the new norm by 2025

Orsuga says we can expect interactive AI interviews to be the new norm by 2025.

“It’s already in place, it’s just people embracing it and starting to implement it,” Orsuga says. “This is not something that is a few years away. This is a few months away at best.”

Orsuga says using AI in the interview process has advantages for companies and candidates. During screener interviews, where people typically fall into three buckets: yes, no, and maybe, Orsuga says AI can be helpful in weeding out candidates who are clearly unqualified.

The practice also can paradoxically bring the “human” back into HR, he says, by allowing applicants the ability to interact and speak for themselves, rather than simply being judged and potentially rejected based on resumes. and cover letters.

The main concern for Orsuga is not knowing what the AI ​​is being told to understand. He says AI can be tailored to understand everything from how clearly a candidate communicates to their physical appearance and the background behind a candidate.

In traditional HR, eliminating bias is crucial, Orsuga says. In an interactive AI interview, he says there is much more uncertainty.

“We’re the generation that beta-tests all of this,” Orsuga says. “There’s going to be some mistakes, there’s going to be some good and there’s going to be some bad that will come out of this, that’s for sure.”

“There are people applying to these jobs”

Canseco says that if he encountered another interactive AI interview, he would probably hang up again.

While she acknowledges that AI has merit in the job recruitment process, she says she worries that interactive AI interviews will diminish human interaction in a process that is “very human,” making the process more “scary and difficult.”

“There are people applying to these jobs, we invest a lot of time in each job application,” Canseco says, adding that using AI makes the process feel impersonal and disconnected from recruiters and hiring managers.

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