Recently, a highly trusted source reported that — contrary to what industry doomsayers would have you believe — artificial intelligence actually makes the candidate experience better.
The source?
Candidates.
It doesn’t get much more trusted than that.
The data (from a new report by Aptitude Research) found that 62% of candidates believe that AI makes the candidate experience more human. Additionally, the report found that surveyed companies viewed improving the candidate experience as the #1 benefit of using AI in TA.
Turns out the rumors of AI replacing the human element from TA were greatly exaggerated.
These findings reaffirm what was previously reported by the Harvard Business Review, ERE, and the Josh Bersin Company in the past year: AI works in TA. Pretty definitively. It’s making candidates happier and employers more profitable (see also: happier). And the more organizations invest in it, the more true both of those things become. But we’ll let Aptitude’s data do the talking here:
- 66% of companies said that leveraging AI would help them create a better candidate experience.
- Employers with a positive candidate experience are 2x more likely to improve their NPS score.
- And they’re 3x more likely to improve employee retention and 2x more likely to increase employee retention.
If you’re already an AI adopter this probably doesn’t feel revelatory. But hey, validation is never a bad thing. But if you’re a skeptic, or even just AI agnostic, you might have a few questions.
Like how. And also why.
We’re glad you asked. Let’s connect the dots on the data.
Why 62% of candidates believe AI makes their experience more human.
This type of question is always fun to answer because it gives us a chance to explain where our name comes from.
Probably the biggest fear humans have had about integrating AI into any process is the perceived loss of human connection. The logic tracks well enough: Less humans should equal less humanity. But the flaw in that thought track is that humans are, well, flawed. Due to human error and limitations of time and energy, they layer in just as much negative impact to most processes as they do positive (and we know that by far the biggest frustration for candidates is lack of communication).
When it comes to TA, those negatives are magnified at scale. Ultimately, it can lead to the creation of thousands of poor candidate experiences.
Leveraging conversational AI at certain stages of the candidate journey — like screening and interview scheduling — almost completely eliminates those negatives through 24/7 automation, leaving only the positives behind. It gives candidates an ever-present AI assistant to guide and allows recruiters and hiring managers to focus more on crucial “people stuff” like interviews and final hiring decisions.
Overall, AI helps create a candidate experience that is faster, easier, and yes, more human.
Seems like a paradox, but it just works.
How employers improve employee retention and satisfaction with AI.
A happy candidate doesn’t automatically mean a happy employee, but it definitely doesn’t hurt.
If your new hire had a positive experience during their hiring process with minimum (or zero) friction points, those good vibes are likely to continue on into Day 1. Pretty easy connection to draw — but it goes deeper than that, too.
As much as conversational AI helps get candidates through the application process faster, it also does a great job of redirecting the candidates who maybe aren’t ideal for a certain role. Conversational AI enables a transparent two-way communication environment, allowing candidates to get any question answered and also more easily learn about various roles within an organization. That self-screening process (combined with the actual screening requirements for each role) leads to candidates discovering the roles that are right for them.
Right fits lead to increased happiness, which leads to improved retention.
There’s more data, too.
Just read Aptitude Research’s new report on AI and the candidate experience. If you like data, you’ll love this.
Download it here.
