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LinkedIn has launched its inaugural AI agent, named Hiring Assistant, to help ease its recruitment process. The new AI feature is designed to streamline various tasks typically handled by recruiters, such as converting informal notes into comprehensive job descriptions and identifying potential candidates while engaging with them effectively.
The company regards Hiring Assistant as a notable advancement in its AI journey, specifically targeting recruiters, who represent a key segment of LinkedIn’s user base.
Currently, the AI assistant is operational with a select group of major clients, including well-known enterprises like AMD, Canva, Siemens, and Zurich Insurance. A broader rollout is expected in the upcoming months.
LinkedIn has been an early adopter of AI technologies in its backend systems, utilising advanced algorithms to provide users with highly relevant connection suggestions. However, the surge in generative AI over the past few years has prompted LinkedIn to enhance its user-facing features significantly.
To address this need for improvement, LinkedIn has leveraged its partnership with Microsoft and OpenAI. This collaboration has facilitated the introduction of various tools designed to assist users, including learning coaches, marketing campaign assistants, candidate sorting tools, and profile enhancers—all powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology.
Hiring Assistant represents a crucial development in this narrative for several reasons. Firstly, it significantly reduces the manual workload for recruiters. LinkedIn had previously launched AI tools for recruitment tasks—such as those introduced in “Recruiter 2024”—but this new assistant pushes the boundaries further by encouraging recruiters to fully embrace automation.
“It’s designed to take on a recruiter’s most repetitive task so they can spend more time on the most impactful part of their jobs,” stated Hari Srinivasan, LinkedIn’s VP of Product.
Moreover, the product allows users to upload detailed job descriptions or simply outline desired qualifications based on preferred job postings from other companies. This generates a list of qualifications sought and establishes an initial candidate pipeline for recruiters to explore further. The algorithms prioritise skills over traditional metrics like location or educational background.
Additionally, Hiring Assistant integrates with third-party applicant tracking systems while being trained on LinkedIn’s extensive database encompassing 1 billion users, 68 million companies, and 41,000 skills.
Upcoming features for Hiring Assistant include enhanced messaging capabilities and scheduling support for interviews. The tool aims to alleviate many administrative burdens that recruiters face daily while also assisting with decision-making processes.
Unlike many of LinkedIn’s previous AI features that catered to a broader audience, Hiring Assistant is explicitly tailored for the B2B sector, specifically targeting recruitment professionals.
LinkedIn has not updated its performance metrics for Talent Solutions since July 2023, but it has demonstrated that AI remains a crucial driver for business growth, which notably influenced Premium subscriptions among individual users.
The future impact on how recruiters utilise these services and whether they perceive these tools as beneficial or threatening remains uncertain. Nonetheless, LinkedIn appears committed to advancing this initiative.