LinkedIn, the professional networking platform owned by Microsoft, is launching Hiring Assistant, its first AI-driven agent tailored specifically for the recruitment sector.
Targeting one of LinkedIn’s most lucrative user segments, Hiring Assistant aims to ease repetitive tasks for recruiters, such as drafting job descriptions, sourcing candidates, and initial candidate engagement. Currently, the AI tool is accessible to a select group of large enterprises, including AMD, Canva, Siemens, and Zurich Insurance, with broader access planned for the near future.
Hiring Assistant leverages LinkedIn’s partnership with Microsoft and its integration with OpenAI’s generative AI technology, allowing the tool to perform intricate tasks based on LinkedIn’s extensive user data, which encompasses over a billion profiles and numerous job market insights. LinkedIn has previously incorporated AI to enhance backend algorithms, such as connection recommendations, but Hiring Assistant marks a significant expansion of AI’s role on the platform’s front end.
Automation for Recruiters’ Repetitive Work
Designed to relieve recruiters of administrative burdens, the Hiring Assistant tool enables users to upload job descriptions or partial notes, which the AI then processes into detailed postings. Using algorithmic matching based on skills rather than traditional factors like location or education, the assistant generates candidate pipelines for recruiters to further refine.
LinkedIn’s VP of Product, Hari Srinivasan, emphasized that the tool is built to enable recruiters to focus on high-impact aspects of their roles, describing it as a step toward automating recruitment’s more tedious elements.
Beyond description creation, the AI integrates with third-party applicant tracking systems and is slated to expand to include features like messaging support and interview scheduling. By automating these steps, LinkedIn aims to streamline recruitment and expand its B2B offerings within Talent Solutions, a sector that exceeded $7 billion in revenue as of July 2023.
While AI usage among LinkedIn’s Premium subscribers has shown strong growth, it remains to be seen whether recruiters will embrace the AI assistant or view it as a disruptive force. LinkedIn’s VP of Engineering, Erran Berger, emphasized that the focus is on perfecting Hiring Assistant’s functionality for recruitment, with potential future applications in mind.
