Talent acquisition leaders don’t need to be told twice that change is the norm these days — especially since TA teams tend to be leading HR in artificial intelligence tool deployment, Jamie Kohn, senior director analyst in the Gartner HR practice, said during a Monday session at the Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo.

But recruiters and hiring teams are also beset by complicated, contrasting demands from employers and candidates alike. AI, risk management, hiring for skills — “your talent strategy will be shaped by the collision of these forces,” Kohn said.

During the session, Kohn shared four trends that are defining the TA experience right now and what organizations can do to lead the way amid these transformations.

1. Machines are a new talent brand audience

Generative AI is more integrated into daily lives, meaning more people are relying on the tech to make decisions, including employment ones.

“Machines increasingly determine whether candidates hear about us at all,” Kohn said.

By 2029, 1 in 4 candidates may be represented by a machine, per Gartner research — an agent that acts for the candidate, rather than a machine that the candidate uses.

“You may be getting applications from people who have never heard of your job or company,” Kohn said — and AI makes those decisions for candidates based on information companies “do not fully control.”

Generative AI doesn’t stop at the career website. It pulls from news coverage, Reddit and employee reviews on 3rd party websites, among other places, to decide whether to share a job opening with a candidate, Kohn said.

To ensure AI agents pass along job openings to the candidates companies want to reach, employers need to create clear, structured, text-based content — videos with readable transcripts, for example. Content also needs to be up to date with the latest cultural reflection of the company, such as how it approaches flexibility.

Be specific, Kohn said. Support claims with data and employee stories, and don’t be afraid to be comprehensive in answering questions candidates may have — a shift from older demands for job information to be concise, she noted.

2. Companies shift from risk avoidance to risk awareness

Previously, employers generally sought to avoid AI risk around candidate assessment, Kohn said. But now, companies are more willing to use AI to scale work and thus are more accepting of risk, partly because to do otherwise is to potentially hamstring a team.

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