AI Automation of Job Interviews: A Natural Field Experiment

Abstract

We study the impact of replacing human recruiters with AI voice agents to conduct job interviews. Partnering with a recruitment firm, we conducted a natural field experiment in which 70,000 applicants were randomly assigned to be interviewed by human recruiters, AI voice agents, or given a choice between the two. In all three conditions, human recruiters evaluated interviews and made hiring decisions based on applicants' performance in the interview and a standardized test. Contrary to the forecasts of professional recruiters, we find that AI-led interviews increase job offers by 12%, job starts by 18%, and job retention up to four months by 16-18% among all applicants. To explain these results, we explore three channels. First, analyzing interview transcripts reveals that AI-led interviews elicit more hiring-relevant information from applicants compared to human-led interviews. Second, recruiters score the interview performance of AI-interviewed applicants higher, but place greater weight on standardized tests in their hiring decisions. Third, applicants accept job offers with a similar likelihood and rate interview, as well as recruiter quality, similarly in a customer experience survey. Moreover, when offered the choice, 78% of applicants choose the AI recruiter, and we find evidence that applicants with lower test scores are more likely to choose AI. Overall, we provide evidence that AI can match human recruiters in conducting job interviews while preserving applicants' satisfaction and firm operations.

Joint paper with Brian Jabarian.