From screening resumes to conducting assessments and handling questions, we map the new wave of companies automating employee hiring and break down what HR leaders need to know about the market.
Hiring workflows, from sourcing candidates to scheduling interviews, are ripe targets for generative AI-led task automation.
More than 30 companies have emerged in the AI recruiting agents & copilot market, which leverage large language models (LLMs) to streamline time-consuming and repetitive recruiting tasks end-to-end.
In this brief, we use CB Insights data to highlight market traction, key buyer considerations, and emerging startups to watch for HR leaders evaluating solutions in the market.
Here are 3 key takeaways from our analysis:
- AI recruiting market heats up across incumbents and startups: Major HR platforms ($1T+ combined market cap) are launching AI recruiting capabilities, while startups in the market have raised 11 deals in 2024 YTD from prominent investors like Benchmark. Both buyers and investors are betting on AI transforming recruiting, creating a two-track market of established platforms and specialized solutions.
- Integration and ease-of-use emerge as key buyer priorities: Based on 10 interviews with software buyers, four critical evaluation criteria consistently surface: customer support, integrations, ease of use, and AI quality. Organizations should prioritize solutions that seamlessly fit into existing workflows, as challenging implementations can negate efficiency gains.
- Generative AI becomes the invisible engine of recruiting: The “copilot” interface is likely just the first wave for genAI integration in recruiting workflows. Vendors like Mercor ($250M valuation) are moving beyond chatbots to integrate AI throughout the entire hiring process — from automated sourcing leveraging LLMs and screening to performance prediction. HR leaders should evaluate vendors on their ability to embed AI across workflows.
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