The Use of AI in Talent Acquisition: The Future of Recruitment

Digital transformation is accelerating in most industries to the extent that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing how organisations attract, assess and recruit people in the market. In the context of the recruitment process, AI in talent acquisition describes the process of applying any of the techniques of machine learning, natural language processing, and data analytics to recruitment, including job advertisements, shortlisting, and evaluation.


Through artificial intelligence, it is easier to work through thousands of applications and find a couple of suitable ones in a very short time in the competitive job market. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and artificial intelligence (AI)-based screening algorithms can be used to find the employees who would best fit the requirements of a particular job, leading to an increase in the quality and speed of hiring (Mousa & Mahmood, 2021). It is particularly helpful in high volume hiring or in the case of sourcing globally dispersed talent.

The possibility of minimising human bias is one of the most important advantages of AI in the recruitment process. This method, based on standardised criteria and data-based decision-making, may produce a more objective and fair assessment process, yet that is largely dependent on the quality of its information sources and their neutrality (Sparrow and Makram, 2022; Raghavan et al., 2020).

AI increases candidate experience as well. An example of such tools is chatbots that answer applicants in real-time, book interviews, and even offer updates on statuses, increasing engagement rates and the employer brand (Acikgoz et al., 2022). Also, AI has the potential to examine nonverbal signs (such as facial expressions, voice tone, and bodily language) in digital interviews, but the ethics and reliability of such tools are still questionable.

Although AI is beneficial in talent acquisition, it needs to be used responsibly. The possibilities of over-automating the recruitment process and utilising their inaccurate algorithms can detach the process making it personless. Thus, organisations will have to find the balance between AI efficiency and human decision-making, where transparency and accountability of the decision-making process is maintained (Briscoe, Schuler & Tarique, 2023).

AI is redefining talent acquisition and is also enabling talent acquisition to be more data-driven, faster, and has the potential to make, it more inclusive. But it has to be strategically conducted in a way that does not create ethical land mines and keeps the human element in recruitment. Responsible implementation of AI is one very strong potentials in the digital economy to find and recruit the best people available.


REFERENCES

Acikgoz, Y., Davison, K.H., Compagnone, K. and Laske, M. (2022) ‘Artificial intelligence in recruitment and selection: A systematic review’, Personnel Review, 51(8), pp. 2145–2174. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-01-2021-0024 (Accessed: 08 July 2025).

Briscoe, D.R., Schuler, R.S. and Tarique, I. (2023) International Human Resource Management: Policies and Practices for Multinational Enterprises. 6th edn. New York: Routledge. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780429441462/international-human-resource-management-dennis-briscoe-randall-schuler-ibraiz-tarique (Accessed: 07 July 2025).

Mousa, M. and Mahmood, M. (2021) ‘AI‑enabled recruitment: Opportunities, challenges and future research directions’, Journal of Business Research, 134, pp. 548–556. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.054 (Accessed: 09 July 2025).

Raghavan, M., Barocas, S., Kleinberg, J. and Levy, K. (2020) ‘Mitigating bias in algorithmic hiring systems’, Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, pp. 469–481. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1145/3351095.3372828 (Accessed: 19 July 2025).

Sparrow, P. and Makram, H. (2022) ‘Strategic talent management: Contemporary issues in international context’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 33(5), pp. 867–889. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1813142 (Accessed: 06 July 2025).

Comments

  1. The Rise of AI in Recruitment28 July 2025 at 01:11

    This is a great post! AI is really changing how companies find and hire people. It helps sort through lots of job applications quickly and can find better matches for open roles. Tools like chatbots and screening systems also make things faster and easier for both employers and job seekers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. E Thennakoon31 July 2025 at 11:42

      Great point! Studies by Mousa and Mahmood demonstrate that AI can reduce the time-to-hire by more than 75%, and work by Acikgoz and colleagues demonstrates that the engagement rate increases with chatbots. The only thing to keep in mind is to combine these tools with periodic bias assessments and a human-touch to ensure that the process is efficient and unbiased.

      Delete
  2. Himasha Amarathunga29 July 2025 at 08:16

    Dear Author, AI is important and reshaping the steps of recruitment. By provide better candidate experiences, faster shortlisting and less biasness it proves the value as per Mousa & Mahmood, 2021 & Acikgoz et al., 2022.
    Apart from that, can we keep it human during the time of going totally digital?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. E Thennakoon31 July 2025 at 12:33

      Of course, but AI adds efficiency and, at the same time, fairness totally, with the human factor retained. Organisations can incorporate the combination of the two by leaving the initial screening to AI and the data-based insights and ensuring that final interviews happen where there is an empathetic recruiter involved who discusses the cultural fit and dreams. To ensure that the process is not cold, it is placed with human checkpoints, such as the use of personalised feedback sessions as well as career-advisory conversations. This is the way technology and empathy can be used to make the procedure of recruiting swift and also having a human touch.

      Delete
  3. Dilanka Sadeeshwaranath30 July 2025 at 06:35

    This article gives a well-rounded explanation of how AI is transforming recruitment, from speeding up application screening to improving candidate experience. It’s particularly strong in balancing AI’s efficiency with the need for ethical, human-driven decisions (Mousa & Mahmood, 2021; Briscoe, Schuler & Tarique, 2023). The emphasis on minimizing bias and maintaining transparency adds depth to the discussion.

    Given AI’s potential to both enhance and depersonalize recruitment, how can organizations ensure they don’t lose the “human touch” while leveraging AI for faster, more data-driven hiring?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. E Thennakoon31 July 2025 at 12:54

      You are perfectly right! Use AI to filter applicants and collect data about them, but never make it your only tool of interaction with them: instead, either make a video call or meet face-to-face. Dedicate these discussions to cultural fit and the career aspirations of the candidates. Provide interviewers with AI-powered talking points that could be used to personalize the conversation, and introduce rapid feedback cycles to candidates that could increase empathy and establish a two-sided communication. It is a way in which you will have efficiency and fairness and still not lose on the human aspect of it.

      Delete
  4. K.Lorance1 August 2025 at 23:48

    Really informative piece! AI clearly has the potential to make recruitment faster and fairer especially with tools like chatbots and ATS. But I agree, it’s crucial to strike the right balance between automation and the human touch. Responsible use, especially in ensuring fairness and avoiding bias in algorithms, will shape whether AI becomes a real asset or just another HR challenge

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. E Thennakoon2 August 2025 at 07:19

      You have made an accurate comparison, where again, it all comes down to the intent behind its application that makes AI either valuable or not. Achieving that elusive balance between efficiencies driven by technology and that demand a human touch will provide just how to go about streamlining recruitment with the greater degree of inclusivity.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Talent Management

Image
By 2025, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) has evolved to be a support mechanism of talent management as opposed to a fringe activity of people management. Meta- reviews indicate that organisations that have mature DEI practices record intense innovation pipeline, high levels of employee engagement, and better financial returns than peer organisations that use diversity as a compliance activity (van Dijk, Stokes and Goodall, 2024). A new systematic literature review also connects high levels of creativity with improved financial performance and the employee well-being with talent development in inclusive cultures (Kaliannan, et al., 2023). In comparison, the performance of cosmetic diversity programmes is unlikely to carry over, inclusion is the pivot which will transform demographic variability into worth  (Li, Christie and Baranik, 2021) . Survey experiments in European companies have found that workers view wide-open and inclusive talent philosophies, under which ...
Read more

The Role of Strategic Employee Resourcing in Business Success

Image
Strategic Employee Resourcing (SER) has moved from a transactional HR activity to a strategic level that shapes organisational performance. The pandemic highlighted this trend when decisions concerning people emerged as the most important consideration in company survival and rebuilding. Companies that strategise, recruit, implement, and retain talent through a coordinated and proactive system are more successful than companies that simply staff when it becomes necessary (Collings et al., 2021). Definition of Strategic Employee Resourcing (SER) SER is a methodical, prolonged procedure that matches business strategy to the workforce planning, selection, employer branding, onboarding, development and succession. Unlike reactive staffing, SER is proactive: it prospectively predicts the future needs in skills and develops pipelines in advance of the gaps closing, thus connecting the human-capital decisions to delivering value. How SER Makes Business Successful SER promotes performance by ...
Read more

Hurdles That Remote and Hybrid Work Models Face in Talent Management

Image
The transformation of the talent management sphere has occurred due to switching to remote work and hybrid models. These models are flexible, cost-effective and increase access to talent, but they also pose with serious challenges on the HR professionals and organisational leaders, particularly on the realm of communication, performance management, and engagement of employees. It is one of the primary risks that are connected to collaborating and keeping a team united. The employees could be at varying locations and time zones in hybrid environments, and strong working relationships cannot be established, nor can quick problem-solving happen at the spur of the moment. The digital collaboration technologies should be methodically combined as the team collaboration has to be efficient without digital fatigue (Briscoe, Schuler and Tarique, 2023). The other problem is performance tracking and accountability. In a situation where there is no physical supervision, it means managers have ...
Read more