CHRO's Guide to AI Recruiting: From Hype to Hiring

The Recruiting Challenge

Every open role costs money in lost productivity, recruiter time, and opportunity cost. Yet traditional recruiting is slow and inconsistent:

• Average time-to-hire: 44 days
• Recruiter time per hire: 23 hours
• Quality varies by recruiter experience
• Bias creeps in at every stage

AI recruiting tools promise to change this equation.

Where AI Adds Value

Sourcing

AI can scan millions of profiles to identify candidates:

• LinkedIn Recruiter with AI matching
• SeekOut for technical talent
• Eightfold for talent intelligence
• hireEZ for outbound recruiting

Screening

AI evaluates applications faster:

• Greenhouse AI screening
• Lever with AI add-ons
• Paradox (Olivia) conversational AI
• HireVue AI video screening

Assessment

AI augments evaluation:

• Pymetrics for soft skills
• Codility/HackerRank for technical skills
• Criteria Corp for cognitive assessment

Scheduling

AI eliminates calendar coordination:

• Calendly AI scheduling
• Paradox (Olivia) interview scheduling
• GoodTime for complex scheduling

Getting Started: Week-by-Week

Week 1: Audit Current Process

Document:

• Time-to-hire by role type
• Cost per hire
• Source effectiveness (where do successful hires come from?)
• Recruiter capacity utilization
• Diversity metrics at each funnel stage

Week 2: Identify Highest-Impact Opportunity

Focus initial AI deployment on:

• Highest volume roles (admin, sales, entry-level)
• Biggest time sinks (screening, scheduling)
• Consistent evaluation challenges

Week 3-4: Vendor Evaluation

For screening AI, evaluate:

1. Integration with your ATS
2. Bias testing methodology and results
3. Candidate experience quality
4. Explainability of decisions
5. Implementation timeline and support

Week 5-6: Pilot Design

Structure a controlled test:

• Select one role family (e.g., all SDR positions)
• A/B test: half through AI screening, half traditional
• Measure: time-to-hire, quality of hire, diversity, candidate experience

Week 7-10: Pilot Execution

During the pilot:

• Monitor AI screening decisions daily (initially)
• Compare to human screener decisions
• Gather candidate feedback
• Adjust thresholds as needed

Week 11-12: Evaluate and Scale

Calculate:

• Time saved per hire
• Quality of hire comparison (90-day performance)
• Candidate experience scores
• Diversity impact (positive or negative?)

Critical Considerations

Bias and Fairness

AI can perpetuate or amplify bias if not designed carefully.

Requirements:

• Vendor must provide bias audit results
• Regular adverse impact analysis
• Human review of AI decisions
• Easy override capability

Questions to ask vendors:

• How do you test for bias?
• What protected characteristics do you monitor?
• Can you show disparate impact statistics?

Candidate Experience

Bad AI creates terrible experiences:

• Generic, robotic communications
• Lack of feedback or transparency
• Technical glitches
• No human escalation path

Evaluate by:

• Going through the process yourself
• Reading candidate reviews (Glassdoor)
• Asking for candidate satisfaction data

Legal Compliance

AI recruiting has regulatory implications:

• NYC Local Law 144 requires bias audits
• EEOC guidance on AI hiring
• GDPR implications for EU candidates
• State laws evolving rapidly

Action: Involve legal counsel early

Implementation Best Practices

Start Narrow

Don't try to AI-enable everything at once:

• Pick one tool for one part of the process
• Prove value before expanding
• Build internal expertise gradually

Maintain Human Oversight

AI should augment, not replace:

• Humans make final hiring decisions
• Regular audits of AI recommendations
• Easy override processes
• Clear escalation paths

Communicate Transparently

Candidates should know:

• When AI is being used
• How decisions are made
• How to request human review

Measure Relentlessly

Track continuously:

• Accuracy of AI screening vs. human
• Time savings
• Quality of hire metrics
• Diversity outcomes
• Candidate experience scores

The ROI Case

Typical AI recruiting benefits:

• 40-60% reduction in screening time
• 30% improvement in time-to-hire
• 25% increase in recruiter capacity
• Improved diversity (when implemented correctly)
• Better candidate experience (faster responses, 24/7 availability)

The Bottom Line

AI recruiting tools are mature enough for mainstream adoption, but implementation matters enormously. A thoughtful pilot focused on high-volume roles can demonstrate clear value within one quarter.

Start with your biggest time sink. Measure rigorously. Scale what works.