Can AI & Automation Tools Help Solve Candidate Sourcing Challenges?

The growth in popularity of AI tools is undeniable. Around 87% of companies use AI in their recruitment process, according to data from DemandSage. This year’s UK Candidate Attraction survey also included a new section to explore Recruitment Automation & AI as a candidate sourcing priority. The Candidate Attraction Report 2025 reveals that 23% of respondents cite Automation and AI as a candidate sourcing priority, yet candidate experience remains at the forefront of candidate attraction, as shared by 60% of respondents. You can find out more about how Recruitment Automation and AI are prioritised in your sector by downloading the latest Candidate Attraction Report 2025.

Candidate Sourcing Challenges

It’s important we challenge ourselves to unpick how AI recruitment and talent acquisition tools address these priorities. Or look if tried and tested tools are already available that support the recruitment process much better.

Insight from the report shares that the top 3 candidate sourcing challenges from the CA25 are:

• Scarcity of Qualified Candidates (53%)
• Building a Diverse & Inclusive Workforce (33%)
• Forecasting Recruitment Needs / Demand Planning (30%)

Can AI Tools help foster diversity and inclusion in the workplace?

As per the Candidate Attraction Report 2025, DE&I in the workplace is both a challenge and a priority to in-house recruitment teams, being cited by 33% of respondents across both instances. And the constantly growing presence of AI Recruitment Tools raises the question: can AI help ensure a more inclusive recruitment process? According to an article from TechUK Trade Association (Embracing AI: a step forward for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), yes it can. The article shares that ‘AI can help recruiters identify and reduce unconscious bias in the recruitment process by utilising Machine Learning algorithms, which can analyse data to identify patterns and potential sources of bias in everything, from the recruitment process to activities and reviews of employees. Getting a clear view of potential bias throughout the recruitment process is a crucial part of creating a diverse and inclusive workforce’.

AI tools can also contribute to creating a more accessible recruitment process by making job postings and career sites more accessible to a diverse pool of candidates (source: Healthbox HR UK). AI-driven tools, such as chatbots and virtual assistants, can support candidates in real-time and help them through the recruitment process, ensuring they have equal access to information and assistance (source: TechUK Trade Association).

Yet it’s crucial to remember that the human touch and empathy are irreplaceable. And AI tools in recruitment should be seen as a helping hand, rather than a substitute, as combining both can ensure candidates with diverse needs have the right tools handy, yet know their fate isn’t decided purely by an algorithm.

AI and Candidate Experience

AI and Automation Tools in Recruitment can go hand in hand with creating a good candidate experience. Correct use of such tools can help achieve faster response times or even enable instant communication. For example, using AI-powered chatbots can offer immediate support to candidates throughout the application process.

Automated job screening also contributes to speeding up the recruitment process, since fully manual application reviews can take a long time, as well as be more prone to human error. Applicants who apply for a particularly popular vacancy may have to wait a long time to hear back, in the case of the recruitment team having to manually sift through and shortlist hundreds of applications.

According to OnRec’s article, 60% of candidates abandon job applications if the process is too rigid and time-consuming. Even if not AI-driven, having a tool, like an Applicant Tracking System, to automate some of the recruitment process, on hand, can significantly improve candidate experience, simplify and speed up the recruitment process and reduce drop-off rates.

According to Metaview’s data, recruiting teams who use AI throughout the hiring process complete 66% more candidate screens weekly compared to recruiters using AI at the individual level only. And with such a significant uplift in productivity, it’s no surprise that 93% of surveyed recruiters and recruiting leaders believe AI skills are necessary for the job (source: Metaview).

In this case, Artificial Intelligence (AI) helps speed up this process, allowing recruiters to shortlist and schedule candidate interviews much quicker, reducing time-to-hire, which is great for both recruitment teams and candidates.

However, similarly to the previous section, despite its effectiveness in driving efficiency, the use of AI in the recruitment process can be perceived negatively by some candidates. AI can deter some skilled candidates from applying for your vacancies, as according to a report from Career Builder, 66% of job seekers wouldn’t want to apply for a job where AI is used in decision making, with 44% of them sharing it’s because AI lacks the human factor. When it comes to the relationship between AI and Candidate Experience, it’s crucial to use such tools thoughtfully, not overlooking the positive impact of human input.

Forecasting Recruitment Demands using AI

30% of Candidate Attraction Report 2025 respondents shared that Recruitment Demand planning / Demand forecasting is one of the candidate sourcing priorities in 2025. The same number of respondents in the in-house recruitment community see this as a challenge, finding it tricky to accurately forecast the changing demands for recruitment, especially in industries such as Hospitality, Retail, Construction and Agriculture.

Successfully forecasting recruitment demands and planning in advance can help organisations avoid being short-staffed, improve employee experience and save costs, due to not over hiring during quiet seasons and knowing when to ramp up recruitment efforts to have sufficient staff for the busy times.

The help of AI tools in this case is evident - AI can analyse historical data, identify trends and use that data to predict talent demand for the future.

AI can help organisations forecast hiring demand through:

1. Predictive analytics, which can significantly improve the accuracy of hiring forecasts, uses advanced analysis of historical and real-time data, including past hiring trends, industry benchmarks, expected seasonality, employee turnover rates and more, to predict future recruiting demands. (Source: MASA)
2. AI can identify skill gaps early, helping organisations keep employees upskilled. By scanning internal HR data, AI systems can compare it to industry-standard skill requirements and point out what learning could be beneficial to the employees. This not only boosts employee development but also promotes internal mobility. (Source: Deel)
3. By factoring in employee availability, holidays, skills and historical project timelines and peak times, AI can optimise shift schedules that help organisations have the right number of employees in place. (Source: MASA)

The final word:

Overall, as said by Katrina Collier, who works with companies globally to improve recruitment and candidate experience, in her Reboot Hiring book – “I don’t believe robots will replace recruiters...or by other technology – but talent acquisition needs it to do their jobs effectively. 

“I advise all recruitment technology buyers to ask vendors questions like, ‘Was a recruiter involved in or advising on the development of this tool?’ and ‘How does this technology save hiring managers, recruiters and applicants time, money and hassle?’ Then, rigorously test the tool and ensure it supports the process without adding unnecessary steps, bias or angst; don’t be the company that leaves talent acquisition out of buying decisions and ends up implementing something that makes hiring harder!”

Whether AI is set to revolutionise or if there is a whole lot of marketing hype that will burn out before it gets started remains to be seen. However, when used sparingly to enhance specific parts of recruitment, it has the power to improve the recruitment process and experience of both the Talent Acquisition teams and candidates.