The recruitment game has changed, and we are noticing how AI now drives nearly every step of hiring, from CV screening to sending rejection emails. No wonder our latest report, How to Lose a Candidate in 10 Days, found that 62% of recruiters rely on AI to streamline workflows.
And the results are striking: some firms report up to a 71% reduction in hiring costs, while recruiters reclaim hours of their week previously lost to administrative tasks.
But speed and efficiency come at a cost – candidates increasingly perceive recruitment as impersonal and transactional. This disconnect can lead to early resignations, even among top hires, as new employees struggle to engage with company culture.
The challenge is clear: companies must harness AI’s power without sacrificing human empathy, trust, and meaningful engagement. We have firsthand seen that AI can supercharge recruitment, where human intuition must take the lead, and why trust and transparency will decide who wins the war for talent.
Bringing the human touch back
While AI can handle high-volume tasks, trust and meaningful engagement still depend on human involvement. Nearly two-thirds of employers now use AI to screen candidates, but restoring the human element is possible by choosing where automation stops and genuine engagement begins.
A smart approach is to use AI for routine tasks like scheduling interviews, while reserving key interactions, such as assessing cultural fit, reviewing CVs, or responding to queries – for real human contact. This ensures candidates receive tailored communication and honest feedback at the moments that matter most.
To prevent speed from replacing empathy, recruiters should regularly audit their processes and identify touchpoints that need a personal voice, such as offering real-time feedback or rejecting candidates with warmth and clarity, rather than letting AI bots do it for them. Even high-volume hiring can feel personal by giving candidates simple ways to connect with recruiters and by offering clear timelines or opportunities for live Q&A.
Recruiters who understand AI’s limitations, its difficulty with nuance or unconventional career paths can step in where human judgment is essential. Sharing authentic employee stories and team insights also helps candidates feel a sense of connection early on. By combining the efficiency of AI with the intuition and empathy of people, organisations can create a recruitment journey that feels both streamlined and genuinely human – which is crucial for the AI-literate and vocal candidates on platforms such as LinkedIn.
Making automation work for people
Full automation isn’t always the right answer in recruitment because it overlooks the subtle qualities that define a great hire, too. While AI can quickly parse CVs and match keywords, it cannot recognise traits like emotional intelligence, adaptability, or cultural fit – qualities that emerge only through human judgment.
Even well-designed algorithms risk filtering out strong candidates who use non-standard language or have unconventional career paths, and automated tools may unintentionally reinforce biases embedded in existing datasets or job descriptions.
When recruiters use AI as an enhancer, automating repetitive tasks and surfacing useful insights, they create more time for complex, high-value decisions, such as assessing leadership potential or addressing candidate concerns with empathy. This balance allows hiring teams to benefit from AI’s efficiency without losing sight of what makes workplaces healthy, inclusive, and resilient: the human element.
AI can support recruiting, but it should not make high-level decisions. Tasks like creating final interview exercises, assessing nuanced candidate potential, or deciding who progresses in the process require human judgment. Only recruiters have the context from earlier stages, the team’s needs, and the subtle insights needed to evaluate long-term fit. Relying on AI for these decisions risks overlooking the qualities of the candidate that truly matter.
Building trust through transparency
A growing demand for ethical and transparent hiring is reshaping how candidates relate to recruiters. Today’s applicants expect more than a transactional process – they want clarity on role expectations, decision criteria, and timelines. T
hey’re also increasingly vocal when they spot AI being used in ways that feel misleading or unfair. Candidates share these experiences publicly, and organisations caught using AI without disclosure or explanation risk damaging trust before the hiring process even begins.
Clear, consistent communication helps avoid this. When recruiters are upfront about where AI is used – and where humans step in – they reinforce credibility. Honest check-ins, realistic timelines, and straightforward explanations provide stability in a process where candidates often feel the least in control.
Transparency and accountability go hand in hand. Acknowledging delays, explaining how decisions are made, and offering constructive feedback all signal respect. They also safeguard employer brands; people who feel informed are far more likely to reapply, refer others, or speak positively online.
Recruiters who treat transparency as a core practice, not just a compliance box, build stronger, more sustainable talent relationships. In a market where candidates compare notes and call out poor experiences instantly, ethical communication isn’t optional; it’s a strategic advantage.
Over the last 15 years, Charlotte has gained experience in marketing, branding, and events. She started her career at a large FT100 company, but she always felt out of place in the corporate environment. There were so many hoops to jump through just to fix something that was broken, and it felt really claustrophobic.
She has always enjoyed fast-paced environments, and she found her feet when she joined Superscript, a B2B insurtech start-up, as one of its first employees. Working at start-ups is more fun and impactful, and this is where she really cut her teeth in the start-up world.
Every day is a new challenge, and she loves the impact you can make in such a short space of time. Seeing the team collaborate and innovate is incredibly rewarding, and she is dedicated to fostering a culture that embraces empathy, creativity, and a shared vision for the future. At the end of the day, it’s all about pushing boundaries and enjoying the journey.
