AI in Recruitment: Where It Works Best

If you're in the recruitment space, you've likely heard about AI integration. While you understand it automates otherwise manual tasks, the real impact goes beyond efficiency—it transforms the process for both employers and employees.

I want to start by saying that AI driven recruitment is highly relevant for high-volume, multinational hiring in industries like hospitality, retail, healthcare, and construction. However, it's less applicable for very specialised roles or senior positions that need a more curated approach. Also, AI does not remove the need for people, if adopted properly it enhances the workflow.

‍

AI vs. Traditional SaaS: What’s the Difference?

Businesses have been using SaaS for Human Resource Management for the last 20 years, since the launch of Workday in 2006. Traditional SaaS platforms like Salesforce or QuickBooks are designed for specific business functions (e.g., CRM, accounting) using standard web and cloud technologies. They follow fixed workflows, process structured data, and offer limited customization.

AI software, uses artificial intelligence models to automate, predict, or optimize tasks. It uses machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and natural language processing (NLP) to continuously improve, adapt, and make autonomous decisions. For example, OpenAI’s ChatGPT learns from interactions to refine its responses.

Note: Many companies such as ours integrates AI into SaaS to enhance efficiencies and user experience.

‍

‍

From Paper to AI

Since the advent of the internet and then Linkedin in 2003, online job boards and professional databases, replaced newspaper classifieds, cold calling, and piles of paper resumes. This led to an explosion in applications and of course, huge headaches for recruiters. A 2024 European study found recruiters in retail spend just six seconds scanning a resume—meaning candidates who fail to highlight key achievements risk being overlooked. Early recruitment software like ATS and CRMs digitized workflows and centralized data. AI is now revolutionizing hiring by improving candidate-job matching, enhancing experiences, and reducing recruiter workload. But now we can do much more.

Using machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP), Artifical Intelligence we can better connect employers to their employees, re-brand their candidate experience and reduce their recruiters’ workload.

‍

‍

Smarter Candidate Matching with AI

AI can information from job descriptions and compares it with publicly available resume and social network data to find the best-fit candidates based on skills, experience, and education.

At Gateway , we’ve built industry-specific Language Models (LLMs) tailored to assess candidates based on sector-specific requirements. These models are built using deep learning techniques, specifically transformer architectures, which allow them to process and generate coherent text based on context. The beauty of these – and this is key – is that our AI can understand context, meaning, and nuances in language, enabling more natural and coherent conversations.

So when it is assessing the compatibility of a hospitality resume to the job specs versus a healhcare worker, or real estate agent, its tailored to assess candidates based on specific technical, creative, or compliance-driven requirements. For example Real estate roles: AI evaluates communication, persuasion, and relationship-building skills. healthcare workers: AI prioritizes medical terminology, clinical guidelines, and ethical considerations.

‍

‍

The Role of Chatbots

Another important area is candidate productivity and experience, which AI enhances through chatbots. The most remarkable appeal of chat bots is their flexibility: they can be deployed via SMS, messaging apps, email and through your company’s website.

So why do chatbots matter? Candidates often apply for jobs and never hear back—leading to frustration and poor employer branding. With Gateway, the moment a candidate applies, an AI chatbot engages them via WhatsApp or SMS, encouraging them to complete their application, and offer interview tips, guide candidates through the process, and answer FAQs, improving engagement and decision-making. By helping applicants apply for a job position and allowing them to ask questions, our ‘agents’ contribute to the overall quality of the pre-assessment process and help applicants make decisions about their applications early on in the process. They also keep applicants engaged during the application process and measure how willing the applicants were to communicate, giving recruiters an additional metric on which to assess applicants.

When you combine this with automated candidate feedback, whether they’re successful or not, it means they have a positive experience. Applicant satifsfaction should be up there with the most important recruiment KPIs as it has such a big halo effect on the overall employer brand. People talk, they also share thoughts on social media freely and you don’t want people speaking negatively about your human resource management or professionalism.

‍

‍

Moving Beyond Pre-Recorded Videos

Another area is within our asynchronous interviews. Traditional SaaS platforms rely on fixed-question video interviews. AI agents conduct real-time, adaptive interviews. NLP enables AI to ask follow-up questions dynamically based on responses. Soon we will be able to offer voice & facial analysis to assess confidence, tone, and engagement in real-time video interviews. The result: Faster, personalized interviews with deeper insights.

‍

‍

AI’s Role in the Future of Recruiting

Many fear AI will replace jobs, but I believe the reality to be different. While AI may automate junior-level administrative tasks, it’ll free up more time for human resources and recruiters to focus on the human relationships that make them great at what they do. With AI-powered analytics, recruiters can:

·       Spend more time building connections with candidates.

·       Use data to showcase quality-of-hire KPIs to hiring managers.

·       Improve employer branding through a seamless candidate experience.

‍

At Gateway we continue to have vigorous discussions about these trends and refining our tools to provide deeper insights, better predictions, and new opportunities.

If you workflow doesn’t involve AI - its time. Whether that’s a platform such as ours Gateway , or an integration of tools into your ATS, CRM etc, (we also have over 20+ integrations), I really advise it. Using AI isnt some buzz word, it’s a way of improving the employer and employee experience and getting more from candidates. In a super competitive enviroment why wouldn’t you want to get ahead by offering automomous and also personlized experiences for every candidate and finding the best-fit people quickly, efficiently, and at the right cost.

‍

‍