How to use AI chatbots for candidates

Technology continues to advance at a breakneck pace, and the next big thing entering the scene is artificial intelligence tech. Knowing how AI can improve your recruiting efforts can help you transform your hiring strategy from a collection of tedious tasks into an enjoyable process for your hiring team. One way to boost your hiring practices is by incorporating AI chatbots into your communication methods. In this article, we explore how AI and chatbots can elevate and streamline every step of your company's hiring practices.

What are chatbots?

Chatbots are computer programs that can emulate human conversation. In the recruitment realm, they automate much of the communication process revolving around potential candidates asking about available roles or how to contact the hiring team. These bots aren't a new concept, but they're getting revamped with the help of AI.

There are two types of recruitment chatbots: rule-based and AI-based. Rule-based bots are the ones many candidates are familiar with. They have a set number of responses programmed to specific commands. AI transforms traditional chatbots into dynamic tools that can take the handful of automated responses and expand them into a helpful resource for candidates. This technology can take a user's input, analyze the intent behind it, and respond accordingly.

How to use AI chatbots for candidates

There are many uses for AI chatbots in the recruiting and hiring process, and you can choose how much or how little you want the chatbots to take over. There's a balance to be had here, as it's important to streamline the hiring process while retaining the human touch. These factors can drastically impact the candidate's experience and influence their choice about coming to work for your company.

Exploring our AI in Hiring whitepaper about AI technology to help you better understand all AI has to offer to your recruitment process. Here are some ways to use AI chatbots for recruiting:

Streamline candidate sourcing

One key benefit of chatbots is their constant availability, meaning they can help your hiring team source candidates 24/7. Having a chatbot available on your company's website and social media platforms can direct qualified candidates to your hiring funnel without requiring that time from your team. Additionally, because the interaction is with a bot and not a human, there's less pressure from the interaction, so those who continue down your hiring funnel are likely to be genuinely interested in the role as opposed to those who are contacted by a member of your hiring team.

Simplify the screening process

Before the grueling process of hiring begins, many companies have a pre-screening interview that asks a slew of questions to pinpoint candidates who align with the company and role. This tedious and repetitive task takes valuable time away from other tasks. Automating this step with a chatbot can help you ask those questions with a minimal time commitment from your recruitment team. Some questions you can have the chatbot ask include:

• Would you relocate to the local area for this role?
• How much notice are you required to give your current employer?
• How soon can you fill this role?
• What are your salary expectations?

Schedule interviews

To eliminate the back and forth between candidates and hiring teams to find an interview time, you can automate this process with a chatbot. Integrating your company's or hiring manager's calendar into the chatbot can help candidates find a time that works for all parties. Many chatbots can automatically add the interview to the hiring manager's calendar, preventing double-booking meetings or other interviews.

Update individuals on the hiring process

Candidates like transparency in the hiring process, and having an AI chatbot allows for more of this. Chatbots can give application status updates, interview feedback, and other information about the hiring process day or night, ultimately improving candidates' experience with the company.

"Embracing this technology and finding ways to incorporate it into your existing practices can improve employee morale and positively impact the candidate experience."

Benefits of a recruitment chatbot

Embracing AI technology in your company's recruiting efforts enables you to reap the rewards associated with this technology. Ultimately, it leads to faster hiring times and can save companies hundreds, if not thousands, when it comes to recruiting and hiring expenses. Here are some of the benefits you can enjoy by integrating AI chatbots into your hiring strategy:

• Reduce repetitive tasks: Hiring roles have many tedious or repetitive tasks. When you integrate AI chatbots, you can relieve employees of some of these duties, ultimately speeding up the hiring process.
• Enhance employee satisfaction: As these tedious tasks are passed from employees' hands to AI computer programs, your teams can spend more time on tasks that satisfy them. Over time, this can boost their overall job satisfaction, enhancing loyalty and morale.
• Improve the candidate experience: Transparency and communication enhance the candidate experience and leave a positive impression. This can be the difference between a candidate accepting a job offer from your company or one from a competitor.

Tips for using AI for recruitment

As with any tool, there are several things to keep in mind when integrating AI chatbots into your hiring process. Here are some tips to consider:

Reanalyze your AI integrations regularly

AI is continuously evolving, and so too are your business needs. This means your AI integrations may become outdated or ineffective over time if you set them and leave them. Taking the time to reanalyze your integrations and business needs can help your chatbots stay up to date with the company's ever-changing needs.

Keep the human touch

Thrusting all your communications into the hands of AI removes a key element of the candidate experience, which is the human touch. Some candidates prefer to interact with human recruiters over a chatbot, so having the option to speak with a person can appease every type of candidate and their communication preferences. Adding the human element at different checkpoints of the hiring process can also reflect the company's attitude toward its employees. For example, a healthy balance of AI and human interactions can show the company's respect for its employee's time. 

Do your research

There are countless chatbot and AI tools at your disposal, which can make it challenging to choose the best one for your organization. Finding a tool that allows you to pick and choose different AI integrations, such as the various AI tools CareerBuilder offers, gives you control when it comes to integrating AI into your hiring strategy.

AI technology has entered the HR realm, allowing you to streamline and enhance your hiring process. Embracing this technology and finding ways to incorporate it into your existing practices can improve employee morale and positively impact the candidate experience. Download our AI in Hiring 2024 report to learn more about how AI technology is impacting the recruitment process.

AI chatbots are one of the many technologies to consider, with their integrations ranging from candidate sourcing to application updates. With a range of options and features, you can find the AI tools that work best for your company to balance AI and the human element. Looking to use AI with job descriptions or search and match to reduce time-to-hire? CareerBuilder can help, contact us today.

More tips for engaging with candidates

Part of engaging with candidates is finding ways to improve your interactions. Learning how to measure the candidate experience can help you find ways to boost it.

Your hiring process is key when it comes to engaging with potential candidates, and there are many steps to consider to develop a streamlined and effective process.