Michael Scott, the protagonist from the US version of The Office, is using an AI recruiter to hire a receptionist. The text-based system asks applicants five questions that delve into how they responded to past work situations, including dealing with difficult colleagues and juggling competing work demands. Potential employees type their answers into a chat-style program that resembles a responsive help desk. The real – and unnerving – power of AI then kicks in, sending a score and traits profile to the employer, and a personality report to the applicant. This demonstration, by the Melbourne-based startup Sapia.ai,

Michael Scott, the protagonist from the US version of The Office, is using an AI recruiter to hire a receptionist. The text-based system asks applicants five questions that delve into how they responded to past work situations, including dealing with difficult colleagues and juggling competing work demands. Potential employees type their answers into a chat-style program that resembles a responsive help desk. The real – and unnerving – power of AI then kicks in, sending a score and traits profile to the employer, and a personality report to the applicant. This demonstration, by Melbourne-based startup Sapia.ai,

Your next job application may be screened by a bot. Companies are already testing and using AI in recruitment. Advanced decision making recruitment engines are helping make hiring easy, fast and transparent. Digitization across business functions accelerated during the pandemic and the shift to a more digitized and automated workplace continues in the post pandemic world. AI-powered recruiting tools can streamline the hiring process, from resume screening to onboarding candidates.

Mya Systems (short for "my assistant") has developed an AI that can streamline the recruitment process in multiple ways, including approving resumes, garnering further information on candidates, asking pay-related follow up questions, and scheduling interviews. The AI chatbot -- designed to work in tandem with humans rather than replacing them -- has the potential to free up human recruiters and lessen the bureaucratic aspects of the hiring process. Its founder, Eyal Grayevesky, told CNN tech that "Recruiters are overwhelmed with so much work because they're doing boilerplate tasks." Since its launch in 2016, the technology has already been adopted by Fortune 500 companies in banking, consulting and retail sectors: Mya's website reports that it has been phenomenally successful, averaging a 9.8 out of 10 on overall candidate experience, increasing recruiting output by 200%, and reducing overheads by 80%. An additional $11.8 million in funding, acquired earlier this week, may help Grayevesky achieve his goal of eliminating frictional employment -- the market failure of a decrease in efficiency due to people being in between jobs.