How Can AI Help Recruitment and Hiring – And What Are the Risks?

On Jul 14, 2025

By Brigitte M. Gladis and Lindsay A. Dischley

As the ubiquity and applicability of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) continues to expand into all aspects of the workplace, employee recruitment and hiring are no exceptions. When determining whether to implement an AI tool for such purposes, organizations must be aware that, while AI may provide a host of benefits, it also carries with it potentially substantial risks. Each organization must conduct its own cost/benefit analysis to determine whether an AI tool is appropriate, and, if so, for what purpose.

AI Can Assist Organizations in Saving Time and Money in Identifying and Hiring Candidates

There can be no doubt that utilizing AI can streamline the employee recruitment process by, for example, screening resumés to locate the desired criteria by searching for specific keywords, thereby obviating the need for Human Resources personnel to screen everything by hand. Using an AI tool in this way may be particularly helpful for larger organizations that receive thousands of applications for open positions, allowing the employer to more expeditiously identify potential candidates.

Organizations may also utilize AI tools to more conveniently communicate with potential candidates – for example, by scheduling interviews or by providing the candidates with status updates regarding the position – or even generating rejection letters. Certain AI tools on the market can also be used to conduct initial interviews with potential candidates and even assess the candidates’ responses. These tools can help an organization expedite the recruitment and hiring process, allowing Human Resources personnel to focus on onboarding and training new hires.

Using AI in the Hiring Process Can Be Risky

Streamlining the recruitment and hiring process does not come without its share of risks. For one, implementing an AI tool at the recruitment stage could cause an employer to overlook potentially qualified candidates whose resumés do not include the specific keywords being searched. Further, the keywords themselves may be problematic if the AI tool identifies them based on a job description that does not accurately reflect the open position.

Moreover, although an employer may seek to use AI to avoid injecting bias into the recruitment and hiring process, it is possible that the biases of those training the AI tool may seep in, thereby potentially creating a biased review of candidates.

In addition, AI tools require organizations to input data, such as resumés and other candidate data. Organizations that fail to properly safeguard personal information relating to candidates, such as email addresses and phone numbers, may unknowingly publicly expose this data and thereby the organization itself to a data privacy violation.

Organizations Must Carefully Assess How to Implement AI While Mitigating Risk

In short, while using AI may save time and money, without careful implementation, employers may run the risk of not only overlooking superior candidates, but also unknowingly conducting a biased job search, which may even result in the employer being named in a lawsuit. Organizations that choose to rely on AI in their recruitment and hiring process should understand the methodology and data being used, and Human Resources personnel should be trained as to how to best incorporate AI into the organization’s process.

Brigitte M. Gladis, Counsel in CSG Law Employment Law Group, has more than a decade of experience litigating complex employment and commercial matters in New Jersey federal and state courts. She can be reached at [email protected] or (973) 530-2166.

Lindsay A. Dischley, Practice Group Leader of the CSG Law Employment Law Group, represents employers in all aspects of employment law including litigation, investigations, counseling and training. She can be reached at [email protected] or (973) 530-2110.

Disclaimer: Sponsored content articles do not reflect the opinions of New Jersey Business Magazine or the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

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