Employers who use AI responsibly in the hiring process, with clear intent and strong human oversight, will be better positioned to compete for talent while maintaining trust, writes Alan Price.
Artificial intelligence has moved quickly from theory to practice in recruitment. For many employers, including those in New Zealand, the question is no longer whether AI will feature in hiring, but how to use it responsibly, transparently, and in a way that genuinely improves outcomes for both employers and candidates.
Deel received over 1.3 million job applications for around 3,000 internal roles in 2025. That volume forces discipline: you cannot rely on manual processes and still expect speed, consistency, or a positive candidate experience.
This is not just a large-company problem. Many Kiwi businesses face similar pressures on a smaller scale. Well-funded startups expanding internationally, or SMEs competing for scarce skills locally, are often hiring under time pressure, with limited internal recruitment capacity.
When roles sit open for too long, growth slows and existing teams absorb the strain.
Our experience is that AI can help address this – but only if it is implemented with intent.
A common concern is that AI removes the human element from hiring. In reality, when used properly, it does the opposite. Applying AI can cut the initial screening time by up to 90 percent, freeing HR specialists to focus on structured, skills-based conversations that actually predict performance and fit.
Earlier this year, we trialled a global virtual hiring event to fill more than 300 internal sales roles worldwide.
Following the live session, attendees were invited to apply, with AI-powered initial interviews available to every applicant
Over 6,800 people attended on Zoom. Following the live session, attendees were invited to apply, with AI-powered [conversational] initial interviews available to every applicant, which focused on skills and role fit.
This ensured all candidates were assessed against the same criteria and received prompt feedback. Within 24 hours, 1,500 candidates had a first-round interview, and those who advanced then met with hiring managers.
Moving beyond CV-only screening is one of the most practical benefits AI offers. CVs remain useful, but they are an imperfect proxy for capability.
Structured, skills-based assessment helps identify candidates who may not present perfectly on paper but are capable of doing the job. A greater focus on skills helps mitigate worries that candidates are using AI to ‘polish’ their CV.
Alan Price.
Concerns about bias are valid and should not be dismissed. Any hiring system reflects the choices of the people who design it.
AI does not eliminate bias automatically, but it can reduce subjective inconsistency when applied thoughtfully. Consistent criteria, structured interviews, and regular review of outcomes are essential. Human oversight must remain central and AI should never make the final hiring decisions.
One of the failures of traditional recruitment is silence, offering no feedback or sense of progress.
Transparency also matters. Candidates deserve to understand how they are being assessed and why. One of the failures of traditional recruitment is silence, offering no feedback or sense of progress.
Poor communication damages an employer’s brand and discourages capable people from applying again. Faster, more structured processes improve trust, even when the outcome is a “no”.
Companies should explain which stages are AI-assisted, what those tools are optimising for and where decisions are made by humans.
There is also a less obvious benefit for employers: better hiring data leads to better decisions upstream.
When candidates are assessed consistently in a meaningful volume, patterns appear quickly. You may find that after reviewing dozens of applicants, none meet all the “must-have” requirements listed in a job description.
That is not a candidate failure. It is feedback to the business that expectations may be unrealistic or poorly defined.
AI-supported insights allow talent teams to surface this early and push that information back to hiring managers. Job descriptions can be refined, requirements clarified, and roles reshaped before another hiring round begins. This results in better candidates, faster hiring, and fewer false starts.
For New Zealand employers hiring skills in short supply, and particularly those trying to grow quickly, speed matters. Improving hiring processes improves hiring mobility, making it easier for people to apply, be assessed fairly, and move into roles where they can contribute sooner.
Research by IDC in late 2025, surveying more than 5,500 business leaders in 22 countries, reflects this trend. More than half of the organisations reported using AI to support hiring decisions, particularly in assessment, screening, and shortlisting.
Most saw improvements in hiring quality, time-to-hire and cost-to-hire, and candidate experience. These are operational gains, not theoretical ones.
For New Zealand businesses, the opportunity is not to copy global practices wholesale, but to apply the same principles: consistency, transparency, and respect for candidates’ time.
Employers who use AI responsibly, with clear intent and strong human oversight, will be better positioned to compete for talent while maintaining trust.
Alan Price is global head of talent acquisition at Deel, whose more than 7,000 global employees all work remotely.
