The responsibility of helping to create future-ready workforces is raising the strategic profile of recruiters, and AI will play a critical role in enabling them to meet the occasion. Yet, new data from LinkedIn finds that few organizations are operationalizing how their recruiters use AI.

Research released during LinkedIn’s Talent Connect conference last week in San Diego highlights the disconnect: Eighty-six percent of recruiters surveyed say their CEO expects them to build the workforce of the future, yet only one-third of recruiting teams consider themselves “AI power users”—strategically marrying their tech and human skills to drive business outcomes. Nearly half deem themselves “practitioners”: They may be using AI to boost efficiencies in their own role but not in a broader, strategic capacity.

According to the LinkedIn data, only four in 10 business leaders surveyed report being satisfied with the progress of their company’s AI use. Meanwhile, nearly half of recruiters say they’re concerned that the organization will fall behind competitors in the next year if their teams don’t enhance their AI skills.

“We are at the center of multiple waves coming at us at the same time,” LinkedIn Chief Operating Officer Dan Shapero said at Talent Connect on Oct. 21, citing the budgetary pressures facing recruiters, while at the same time, requisition load is soaring—up 24% year over year, according to LinkedIn. “Recruiters are being asked to do more with less, and that’s a big thing we believe AI can help with.”

Lessons and updates from Hiring Assistant’s first year

LinkedIn’s research found that two-thirds of recruiters who report using AI say the tech is enabling them to be more strategic talent advisors; nearly as many say AI is improving the candidate experience.

To continue elevating the strategic role of recruiters, LinkedIn rolled out Hiring Assistant last fall. The recruiting agent, now available globally, assists with candidate intake, evaluation and engagement and is built on top of LinkedIn Recruiter.

Over the last year, charter partners using the tool saw a nearly 70% increase in InMail acceptance rates and reduced the entire pre-screening process to eight minutes. LinkedIn found that Hiring Assistant users are saving an average of four hours per role and reviewing 62% fewer profiles.

At Talent Connect, LinkedIn unveiled a number of product updates that will roll out in the coming months. Among them, Hiring Assistant will be able to integrate with Microsoft Teams, enabling real-time collaboration between recruiters and hiring managers. Bill Burnett, vice president of product marketing at LinkedIn, said the integration was one of the “most-requested features” from charter partners. Instead of recruiters and hiring managers having to “go back and forth through email,” the integration will “bring calibration into the flow of work.”

Hiring Assistant will also be able to integrate with applicant tracking systems, including Workday, Greenhouse, SmartRecruiters and more. The tool will combine LinkedIn and application data to “build the most comprehensive evaluation possible,” Burnett said, all in real time.

Pre-screening tools are now available in Hiring Assistant, and next year will bring the addition of interview scheduling and voice pre-screening, building on current candidate engagement capabilities.

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