The recruiting funnel is getting noisier from both sides. Employers are using AI to create and sort applications, while candidates are increasingly using AI to apply and prepare. The result is more volume - and a stronger need for good assessment rather than faster rejection.
Recruiting leaders are already planning around AI
SHRM’s 2026 recruiting-executive research found that 92% expect generative AI use for job descriptions and recruitment content to become more prevalent, while about 87% expect broader AI and automation in recruiting to increase.
The same research found that 85% expect candidates’ use of AI applications to apply for jobs to become more prevalent, and 74% expect AI-assisted interviewing by candidates to increase.
The recruiting workflow is therefore becoming an arms race of sorts: employers are using AI, and candidates are using it too. That makes assessment quality more important, not less.
Screening is not selection
LinkedIn found that 93% of talent acquisition professionals believe accurately assessing candidate skills is crucial to improving quality of hire. Its platform data also found that companies with the most skills-based searches were 12% more likely to make a quality hire.
That suggests a better AI recruiting question: not “How quickly can we reject resumes?” but “How quickly can we get qualified candidates into a better human assessment?”
A better AI recruiting workflow
- Parse and structure - turn resumes and applications into usable candidate data.
- Match against the role - compare skills and requirements rather than relying on simple keyword presence.
- Shortlist transparently - use defined criteria and make it possible for recruiters to challenge the result.
- Assess the person - use interviews, assessments, scorecards and manager feedback for the decisions that require human judgment.
Where RightlyHR fits
RightlyHR Recruitment includes AI-powered candidate search, resume parsing, AI matching, skill matching and shortlisting, alongside interview scheduling, scorecards, team feedback, offers and onboarding.
That end-to-end connection matters. Screening alone does not create hiring value. Candidates still need to move from application to assessment, decision, offer and onboarding without losing context along the way.
The candidate now has AI too
When applications become easier to generate, recruiters need stronger signals rather than simply more volume. Structured assessments, skills-based evaluation and consistent scorecards become more valuable as AI makes the top of the funnel noisier.
What HR leaders should ask
- What criteria is the AI matching against?
- Can recruiters see why a candidate was surfaced?
- Where does human assessment begin?
- How are candidate and interviewer feedback connected to the final decision?
