Human touch stays at the centre of hiring-even as AI scales up
Hiring teams are doubling down on human judgment while using AI to clean up the busywork. That's the headline from Willo's third Hiring Trends Report, which shows AI use is now common on both sides of the table-and authenticity is the new bottleneck.
As Willo CEO Euan Cameron puts it: employers now know where automation adds value and where judgment must remain human. The goal isn't to replace people. It's to create a cleaner, fairer process that reveals real talent.
AI is everywhere-but it's a support act
76.6% of hiring teams regularly see AI-assisted applications. At the same time, 52.1% have added AI features or tools to their own process.
- Manage application volume
- Summarise long responses
- Standardise early-stage screening
- Cut repetitive admin
- Improve consistency across roles and locations
Cameron's take: teams are more confident about using automation for structure and speed, while keeping judgment calls with people.
Keeping it real: how teams protect authenticity
With AI writing résumés and first-pass answers, interviewers are digging deeper.
- 47.3% updated interview techniques to probe beneath surface answers
- 31.9% added assessments
- 27.5% added more personal, experience-based questions
- 22% increased use of live or asynchronous video
- 27.5% train staff to spot AI-generated content
- 14.3% use AI-detection tools or software
Moving away from résumés and into proof-of-skill
Four in ten hiring teams are actively shifting away from résumés as they become AI-polished. The emphasis is moving to real capability and signal over polish.
- Scenario-based assessments
- One-way video to capture communication style and authenticity
- Structured question sets that probe real experiences
- Hands-on tasks that show actual skill
As Kree Govender of Microsoft notes in the report: moving beyond résumés helps surface adaptable, high-potential talent-especially from diverse backgrounds.
Decisions that stay human
78.7% say final hiring decisions should remain with people. Certain steps should never be automated:
- Salary and offer discussions (72.3%)
- Candidate outreach and relationship-building (62.8%)
- Conducting interviews and assessments (59.6%)
Or as Cameron says: it's not humans versus AI. It's humans deciding how to use AI well.
What HR should do next
- Define your AI policy: where AI supports the funnel, where it's banned, and where human sign-off is mandatory.
- Shift signal to skills: use scenarios, work samples, and structured interviews. Reduce résumé weight.
- Standardise early screens: use AI for summaries and consistency; use calibrated rubrics for scoring.
- Train interviewers: deeper probing, behavioral follow-ups, red-flag patterns for AI-written answers.
- Measure fairness and quality: track pass-through rates, time-to-hire, candidate experience, and adverse impact.
- Be transparent with candidates: disclose tools used, how data is evaluated, and where humans decide.
- Audit tools regularly: accuracy, bias, data retention, and explainability. Document decisions.
- Keep offers human: compensation, negotiations, and relationship touches are owned by people.
For compliance context, see the EEOC's guidance on AI in employment and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.
If you're upskilling your team to interview better, design structured assessments, or spot AI-generated responses, explore practical training paths here: Complete AI Training - courses by job.
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