- Key insight: Learn how humanized AI interviews can preserve automation benefits while improving candidate engagement.
- What's at stake: Reduced applicant pools and brand risk if organizations ignore candidate trust concerns.
- Supporting data: Aurora survey: 80% plan AI resume reviews; 25% already conduct full AI interviews.
Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review
AI is fast becoming an integral part of employers' hiring process, but many job candidates are saying "no thank you" to automated screenings and interviews. A more humanized version of AI might help keep the
More than 80% of employers plan to
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But this increased efficiency is having adverse effects on candidate pools, with many current employees and those looking for jobs saying they lack trust in AI screening algorithms, and question the
Making automation feel more human could be a key to efficiency and adoption. Voice-AI interview platform Ezra is seeking to turn AI interviews into something that benefits both employers and potential hires; its chatbot, a human-sounding voice, asks employer-approved questions as well as intelligent follow-ups, and candidates can share as much as they want as well as ask their own questions during the recorded video call. The calls are videoed, summarized, and candidate answers are scored on a scale of 1 to 4 for recruiters to review.
"The weirdness of talking to AI is absolutely top of mind for us," says Ezra's founder Ophir Samson. "That translates to how we design the technology to make the experience better."
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Samson says that contrary to what many job seekers believe, this kind of interview interaction can give a qualified candidate a better chance. Candidates tend to offer more information during voice-AI interviews than they would through written responses or with a human recruiter, giving a more thorough impression of themselves, he explains.
"The status quo is that job seekers are judged by AI resume screening, and if they are getting human attention, two to four seconds is the average amount of time recruiters will spend on inbound applications in large companies," Samson says. "What we're trying to do is give candidates an ability to explain why they're a good fit for the company, and to be able to stand out in an ocean of AI-generated fluff that their competing candidates are submitting."
Zapier, a workflow automation company that has been piloting Ezra, has tapped more qualified candidates for a second-round interview than it would have without the technology, says Tracy St. Dic, the company's global head of talent. Understanding that people can be hesitant to engage, she encourages leaders to focus on how they present this type of technology, and makes sure to let candidates know that her recruiters still review everyone who goes through the Ezra interview — just with a more well-rounded view.
"We've played with our framing of this and the transparency that we bring to candidates, which makes a huge difference," she says. "We say, 'This is your chance to shine. Tell us what's not on your resume and in your cover letter."
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Samson's use of his own product is how he found one of his most valuable hires — someone who would not have been considered without his Ezra interview.
"If I was judging this guy's resume, I would not have given it a second look," he says. "He hadn't been to college. He'd never worked at a company I'd ever heard of, there were no keywords that stood out. But he took an Ezra interview, and I saw he scored 3.6 out of 4, so that was interesting." After watching the interview video and reviewing the transcript, the candidates' skills were obviously aligned with the company needs. Now, he's a thriving senior engineer at the organization.
"He was the best out of 1,200 applicants, but would not have been given a chance if we judged him just on his resume," Samson says. "Because he did this [voice-AI interview], he now has a job."
