There is a lot of talk about how AI is revolutionizing the recruiting industry. AI capabilities are being embedded in job sites, ATS and talent management platforms, and interviewing tools. However, all AI tools are not equal, and the key to unlocking the value of AI in the recruitment process is figuring out when and how to best use it. And while AI recruitment tools can expand candidate access and improve the productivity of recruiters, they don’t improve time to fill or hire quality. These factors remain exclusively dependent on human evaluation and the efficiency of an organization’s hiring processes.
As an earlier adopter of AI recruitment tools, Robertson has integrated AI into its recruitment process at the pre-screening and candidate evaluation stage. We have conducted more than 15,000 AI interviews. The goal is not to use AI to replace a human recruiter, but rather to uncover qualified talent faster and make our recruiters more productive and effective at finding our clients’ talent that best fits their needs and culture.
Candidate Identification
Within our extensive proprietary database, Robertson recruiters use AI to surface top talent from our proprietary database. Rather than relying on keyword matching, our AI uses natural language processing to interpret the intent behind a job description — parsing required competencies, seniority, and industry context — and compares that against the full text of each candidate’s profile and work history. This semantic approach surfaces transferable skills and adjacent experience that traditional searches miss. A candidate who “led cross-functional product launches in a regulated fintech environment” can be surfaced for a healthcare SaaS role requiring “program management in a compliance-heavy sector,” even when no literal terms overlap.
Our semantic approach surfaces transferable skills and adjacent experience that traditional searches miss.
Beyond Our Database
When a role requires talent beyond our proprietary database, AI extends the search across the open professional web — surfacing passive candidates from public profiles, published work, and industry sources whose experience aligns with the role’s intent. It also informs where and how we post externally, targeting the channels most likely to produce strong candidates and optimizing posting language to broaden the applicant pool. Inbound applicants are then enriched with publicly available professional information, giving recruiters a fuller picture than the resume alone.
Candidate Pre-screening
Robertson’s AI interviewing platform enables our recruiters to pre-screen hundreds of candidates for a role simultaneously, increasing the probability and speed of finding top talent. This means more candidates can demonstrate their skills and do so at a time and place that is convenient for them. Our AI interview platform creates structured, role-specific competency-based questions based on the job description which Robertson recruiters review and can revise. This consistency reduces interviewer bias and makes the process fairer for candidates.
Screening, Scoring, and Verification
Candidates are evaluated through a dual-score system. The platform first scores the resume against the job description, then generates a separate interview score reflecting how well the candidate’s responses demonstrate the specific competencies and qualifications the role requires. Where these scores diverge — a strong resume paired with a weak interview performance, or vice versa — the system flags the discrepancy for recruiter review, making it an effective tool for identifying resume inflation and misrepresented credentials.
Alongside this, every interview generates a Trust Score that helps recruiters detect candidate fraud. This includes fake profiles, interview proxies where a third party completes the interview on the candidate’s behalf, AI-generated responses, and identity misrepresentation including deepfake video. The Trust Score draws on 14 identity verification checks and real-time behavioural signals — eye movement, background noise, screen switching, and AI tool usage — captured throughout the interview. When verification checks fail or behavioural signals raise concern, recruiters are prompted to investigate before advancing the candidate.
Once a talent pool is identified — from our database or external postings — AI scores each resume against the role requirements, giving recruiters a transparent match score and the reasoning behind it, so professional judgment drives the final call. In parallel, AI verifies authenticity by cross-referencing the resume against the candidate’s LinkedIn profile, confirming a consistent digital footprint and valid contact information — an increasingly important safeguard as AI-generated applications rise.
Our recruiters review the scores and invite candidates that meet a threshold score to conduct an AI-Led pre-screening interview. If candidates aren’t comfortable conducting an AI-led interview, accommodations are made to ensure we don’t lose top talent that is reluctant to conduct an AI interview.
Finally, Robertson’s AI-Led interview platform also generates candidate insights that help our recruiters design and conduct deeper in-person interviews. This approach improves the efficiency of our recruiters so they can focus more time on candidate evaluation and shortlists, market insight, and client advisory.
Benefits of our AI Approach
Benefits for Clients
Robertson’s use of AI-powered processes and tools provides our clients’ faster access to qualified candidates and stronger insight into candidate capabilities and competencies. Our recruiters can source and screen more candidates faster, which enables them to identify qualified candidates faster and focus their time on evaluating which qualified candidates are the best fit for the role and your organization.
Furthermore, we ensure candidates understand how the AI tools benefit them, and their experience using them is positive. This increases the number of candidates who apply and participate throughout the recruitment process which can increase the quality of the candidates we shortlist for our clients.
Candidate adoption and satisfaction with Robertson’s AI-Led interview platform is high. More than 15,000 AI-led Interviews have been conducted, and their satisfaction with the experience has been very positive (See Table above). This is likely due to the warmth of our AI recruiter’s voice and its ability to converse easily with candidates.
The result is more candidates being identified and assessed. And a deeper, unbiased assessment of the most qualified candidates.
For entry to mid-level positions, our AI tools enable our recruiters to submit top-quality candidates within 5 hours of receiving a requisition from our clients, often resulting in roles being responded to in less than 24 hours.
Candidate Reviews
(ratings on a 5-point scale where 5 is excellent)
- Jennifer — 4/5: “The interview process was very fast, interactive, and smooth.”
- Bharat — 5/5: “I was expecting a live person, but the AI did well understanding my answers and asking relevant follow-up questions.”
- Quynh — 5/5: “Alex is very effective. She asks clear, thoughtful questions and summarizes information in a concise, structured way.”
- Iris — 5/5: “She is an active listener, very patient and respectful. She creates a comfortable experience that makes the interview feel smooth and efficient.”
(Bar chart axis values: 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 / scale points 1–5)
Oversight
Robertson monitors the quality and accuracy of its AI-Led interview output through ongoing review of interview responses and the overall candidate experience. A dedicated compliance team oversees candidate communications to ensure alignment with employment and privacy standards. Candidate feedback is regularly reviewed, and any issues are escalated for resolution. We also conduct audits of the tool’s performance and outcomes to ensure accuracy, fairness, and privacy protection.
Benefits for Candidates
Some candidates are skeptical of the use of AI in the recruitment process because they don’t understand how it works and benefits them. This is not surprising because all too often recruiters don’t disclose that AI is being used, let alone the benefits. However, the use of AI increases the probability that the best qualified people will be found, more people can be interviewed, in a more fair and unbiased manner and at a time and place that is convenient for them.
1. More Convenient 24/7 Interviewing
One of the most immediately tangible benefits of AI interviewing is the freedom it gives candidates to complete assessments and interviews entirely on their own schedule. Unlike traditional interviews that require coordinating availability across multiple parties, AI interviews are available around the clock — including evenings, weekends, and public holidays. This is particularly valuable for candidates who are currently employed and cannot easily take time away from work, those with caregiving responsibilities, or those with a long commute or in different time zones.
2. Speed of Feedback
One of the most common frustrations candidates report in traditional recruitment is the wait — days or even weeks before hearing whether they will progress to the next stage. AI dramatically compresses this timeline. Our recruiters receive candidate results almost immediately, allowing them to make progression decisions far more quickly than in conventional screening processes.
For candidates, this speed translates directly into a better experience. Shorter feedback loops reduce the anxiety of uncertainty and demonstrate that the organization values their time. When candidates receive timely communication — even if the outcome is not the one they hoped for — they are far more likely to leave the process with a positive impression of the recruiter and the hiring organization.
3. A Fairer, Bias-Free Assessment
Perhaps the most powerful benefit for candidates is the elimination of human bias from the initial screening stage. In a traditional interview, unconscious bias can influence a recruiter’s assessment in ways that are difficult to detect and almost impossible to eliminate entirely. Factors such as physical appearance, accent, gender, age, or simply how well a candidate’s personality matches the interviewer’s own can all influence outcomes in ways entirely unrelated to job performance.
AI interviewing removes these variables. Every candidate for a given role is assessed on the same criteria, asked the same questions, in the same sequence, with the same amount of time to respond. The AI evaluates the substance and relevance of candidates’ answers — not how they look or where they went to school. This consistency ensures that every applicant gets a genuinely fair shot at demonstrating their capabilities, regardless of background.
4. Increases Chance of Being Considered
AI interviewing also significantly increases the number of candidates a recruiter can evaluate for a position. Where a human recruiter might realistically screen a few dozen applicants, AI can assess hundreds — ensuring that no qualified candidate is overlooked simply due to the volume of applications received. Candidates should understand this: AI does not reduce their chances of being considered. It increases them. And unlike in-person interviews, AI platforms give candidates the ability to review and revise their answers before submitting, something that is simply not possible in a live setting. This further levels the playing field for candidates who may be less confident in high-pressure interview environments, but who are highly capable performers.
Conclusion
AI is not a replacement for experienced recruiters — it is a force multiplier. At Robertson, AI is deliberately applied where it delivers the most impact: accelerating candidate identification, improving early-stage assessment, and giving recruiters sharper insights sooner. By combining AI-driven efficiency with our recruiter’s deep market knowledge, judgment, and relationship-building, Robertson can uncover top talent faster while maintaining the high-touch, consultative approach our clients and candidates expect. The result is a recruitment process that is not only faster, but smarter, more consistent, and ultimately more human where it matters most. In an industry where speed often sacrifices quality, Robertson proves you can achieve both – by using AI not to replace human judgement, but to elevate it.
