“AI will divide TA roles into high-volume and targeted recruitment. High-volume recruiters will use AI for candidate generation, screening, and scheduling, while targeted roles like executive search will remain more human-centric,” said Hung Lee, recruiting thought leader and Editor of Recruiting Brainfood newsletter.

During his conversation with Deepa Damodaran, Editor of HR Excellence Magazines at HR.com, at FiesTA 2025, held recently in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Hung discusses AI's impact on recruiting, how TA can adapt to AI and address its ethics concerns, and the need to change recruiting ROI metrics, among others.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Most companies are apprehensive about implementing and using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in recruiting owing to ethics and bias concerns. How can companies position AI in their hiring process responsibly?

Hung: Most organizations still lack an AI usage policy. Thus, individuals and departments use AI tools, such as ChatGPT, without any instruction or guidance. Moreover, many senior-level executives do not know what is allowed or not in terms of AI usage.

The first thing companies need to do is establish clear AI policies to ensure compliance, and guide employees on acceptable use. Once that is in place, it will help companies stay compliant with the law and, in turn, help employees behave within the set parameters.

AI can exacerbate unconscious bias. It can make certain judgments that a human being would otherwise not make. If you are concerned about the ethical aspect, move AI away from high-stakes choices, like hiring decisions, and use it for tasks like creating better messaging or improving interview logistics. AI should support, not replace, critical decisions.

Q: What recruiting/TA roles are going away due to AI, and what new roles will emerge?

Hung: Recruiting has always been technologically driven.

During the earlier days, a personnel manager will post a job advertisement and directly pass on the responses to a hiring manager. There wasn't such a thing as a TA person.

The internet changed that. It allowed companies and professionals to build databases more easily and directly hire individuals.

New technologies, especially AI, will have a huge impact on TA, especially AI. AI will divide TA roles into high-volume and targeted recruitment. High-volume recruiters will use AI for candidate generation, screening, and scheduling, while targeted roles like executive search will remain more human-centric.
 

Q: Do you think this technology could eventually reduce the number of recruiters an organization needs?

Hung: Absolutely. In an interesting study, recruitment thought leader Jan Tegze analyzed the total number of people working in recruiting globally. According to the research, the number of individuals in talent acquisition has remained relatively stable, even with the rise of AI.

So, AI may not have made a significant impact yet. However, it makes sense to think that if artificial intelligence can greatly improve a recruiter’s productivity, fewer recruiters may be needed. However, AI’s efficiency could also boost overall productivity, potentially creating new roles or shifting business strategies.

Therefore, high productivity doesn’t necessarily mean fewer people right away; it’s simply a stepping stone for how our companies will evolve.

However, this isn't limited to the TA industry. Almost every sector, from software engineering and sales to marketing and legal, is being affected by AI.

Q: During your session, you mentioned that TA departments shouldn't compete with AI, but instead build the function around it. Can you elaborate on how TA can adapt to AI?

Hung: Goldman Sachs has conducted an interesting study, where they identified certain work tasks and categorized them into ‘AI exposed’ and ‘AI insulated’.

"AI-exposed" tasks are those where artificial intelligence is likely to have a significant impact and may eventually replace human involvement. "AI-insulated" tasks, on the other hand, are less vulnerable, as AI doesn't seem to be particularly good at doing these types of activities.
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Many tasks TA professionals handle today, such as data storage, organizing databases, searching, and retrieving information, fall under "AI-exposed." AI can perform these tasks more efficiently and effectively.

Meanwhile, they should expand into AI-insulated tasks, like strategic decision-making and human interaction, typically called higher-value work. This approach improves efficiency while maintaining the essential human touch.

At the same time, TA managers must be able to articulate why it's a higher value work. They must be able to measure the KPI and the business impact of such tasks.

Q: How do you effectively measure ROI in recruiting?

Hung: This is where we need a revolution. When it comes to calculating the ROI of recruiting, we are still stuck with the traditional metrics, such as time to hire, cost per hire, etc., that diminish the role of TA.

We must shift to measuring business impact—the value a new hire brings to the company and how it strengthens the business.

If you can outcompete your competitors for the best talent in the marketplace, the business impact is immeasurable. We need to broaden our understanding of recruitment ROI—it's not just about ad spending or LinkedIn licenses.

It's about the impact of having this person in the company and the value they bring compared to not having them, or having someone less valuable in that role. That's how we should begin thinking about the function. This will help demonstrate the true ROI of recruitment efforts.

Q: What are the biggest trends in recruiting for this year and the next five years?

Hung: The trends remain familiar. First, it's about doing more with less. We must constantly strive for greater efficiency, as there will never be a point where the business says, "You're efficient enough." We'll need to keep improving our processes year after year.

Secondly, we need to recognize that artificial intelligence is ubiquitous. It's not just recruiters using AI; candidates are using it too. And rightfully so. AI should be leveraged to enhance job search activities, increase volume, and improve conversion rates.

This presents a challenge for recruiters, as both the quality and volume of applications are expected to increase. As a result, we need to rethink our recruitment pipelines, how we assess volume, and how we manage candidate fraud.

Human quality assurance is going to be a big component of what recruiters do going forward.

Q: The Trump administration has cracked down on DEI and gender identity policies in the U.S., and there are reports of companies pulling back on their DEI goals and policies. What implications could this have for the U.S. workforce and globally?

Hung: Unfortunately, I think that it's going to be very difficult for our U.S. colleagues. Many of the things that TA and HR value—diversity, inclusion, and equity—are integral to our function, but these are likely to be under attack. TA and HR may also face increased scrutiny in the United States.

I believe we will see a divergence between what happens in the United States and elsewhere. For example, in Europe, DEI is not controversial—it’s less prominent and less emotionally charged. Legislation is already in place, such as paid transparency.

We recognize that underrepresented groups require different types of support, and this is not controversial. We fundamentally believe that a more diverse workforce is beneficial. As a result, I think the U.S. will go in one direction, while Europe will go in another. The rest of the world will likely follow local conditions. However, I believe the next few years will be challenging for DEI, HR, and TA in the United States.



 
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