Hiring isn’t broken because we lack tools. It’s broken because our tools don’t act.

In my conversations with TA leaders at some of the world’s most respected companies, the same challenges come up again and again: Budgets are tightening, the talent team is shrinking and there are an overwhelming number of applicants per role — more than we’ve ever seen before.

In this environment, many strategic leaders are asking, ‘How do we move faster, become twice as efficient and still deliver a highly personal candidate experience?’

You might be surprised at a concern I don’t hear: A lack of technology. In fact, most teams are drowning in it: Platforms, dashboards and chatbots, all promising smarter, faster hiring.

Instead of removing friction, these platforms often add complexity. Despite a massive uptick in AI adoption, GoodTime’s own survey of 500+ global talent leaders found that time-to-hire is still on the rise at most companies.

So what’s the real root of the problem here?

The truth is, most hiring tech is still built to react, not to act. It waits for human input. Some systems might offer suggestions or send alerts, but few actually move the process forward on their own.

And in a world where every hour and every hire matters, that’s no longer enough.

Why reactive AI falls short — and agentic AI delivers

AI-powered chatbots and other tech might feel helpful, but they rarely take meaningful action and can’t handle complex tasks when they arise. They surface suggestions, flag issues, or send reminders, but the burden still falls on your team to move hiring forward.

If a system tells you a top candidate hasn’t been scheduled, but doesn’t schedule them, it’s not helping reduce workload. It’s handing off another task. The most effective teams are looking for agentic AI that behaves like a teammate: screening candidates, scheduling interviews, closing gaps — all without waiting for instructions. These aren’t passive tools. They’re active agents.

And when these agents know how to work with each other, and with the people on your hiring team, they become even more powerful and drive the ROI you actually need.

That’s where orchestration comes in.

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