Key Takeaways
Bijo Thomas expected to speak with a person when he logged on for an interview for a senior AI solutions architect position at Experis, a talent acquisition brand. Instead, when he opened his laptop, he was greeted by an AI avatar named Sophie.
Thomas recently described the interview to Business Insider, saying Sophie appeared human from the neck up. The avatar smiled during the conversation and asked follow-up questions as the interview progressed.
“It was very realistic,” Thomas told BI. He advanced past the AI-led interview and completed two additional rounds with human interviewers. He ultimately landed the role and started in May.
Thomas’s experience points to a broader shift in hiring. Artificial intelligence is no longer limited to scanning large volumes of résumés; it is beginning to play a role in early interview rounds. Business Insider reported that companies including cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and automation software firm Zapier have quietly started using AI to screen job candidates through interviews.
AI interviews were initially more common in sectors such as retail and manufacturing, where employers often need to fill large numbers of roles quickly. The practice is now gaining traction in the hiring process for full-time white-collar jobs as companies look for faster ways to narrow applicant pools.
Employers are reluctant to publicize their dependence on AI
Employers aren’t touting the use of AI systems in hiring, partly because of debate around AI. According to BI, it remains to be seen if AI chatbots have a positive impact by reducing human bias in hiring or a negative effect by alienating candidates.
“The interview process is arguably the most human part of recruiting,” Kyle Lagunas, an HR tech industry analyst, told BI. He added that employers could be concerned about how it would look to candidates to outsource this human element of recruiting to AI.
At some companies, however, applicants must pass through AI interviews before they can make an impression on human interviewers — and at times, the AI gatekeepers are necessary due to the sheer volume of job applicants. For example, Coinbase faces a flood of applications, about 1.5 million per year, L.J. Brock, the platform’s chief people officer, told BI.
“No matter how big my recruiting team is, no matter how hard we try, we can’t get to 1.5 million people,” he told the outlet.
Coinbase turned to AI to manage interviews starting in August. The company introduced an AI interviewer named Milo to handle interviews for roles below the director level. Since Milo’s release, Coinbase has brought on more than 240 new hires initially filtered by the AI.
Coinbase isn’t the only company to experiment with AI interviews. Zapier also rolled out AI interviews last year after realizing that its job postings immediately drew thousands of applicants — far more than it was possible for humans to screen on their own.
Tracy St.Dic, Zapier’s global head of talent, told BI that AI interviews have allowed the company to screen up to five times more applicants than normal and allowed candidates to advance through the hiring process on the basis of more than just their application and resume. St.Dic called these applicants “hidden gems.”
Key Takeaways
Bijo Thomas was expecting a human being to interview him for a job as a senior AI solutions architect role at talent acquisition brand Experis. When he opened up his laptop for an interview, he instead came face-to-face with an AI avatar named Sophie.
Thomas recently told Business Insider about the experience. He said that Sophie looked like a human being from the neck up, and she smiled and asked follow-up questions throughout the interview.
“It was very realistic,” Thomas told BI. He passed the interview and went through two more rounds, each time with human interviewers. He got the job and joined in May.
