Digital employees aren’t the future of recruitment. They’re already here—but not in the way most people predict. While there’s been plenty of buzz around AI-powered “digital employees,” including Josh Bersin’s recent piece on reimagining work with generative and agentic AI, the real transformation happening in talent acquisition isn’t about replacing recruiters. It’s about redefining what recruitment teams can achieve when they combine human expertise with the efficiency of AI in recruiting.

At Talivity, we’re seeing this shift firsthand:

• Junior recruiters are leveraging their fresh perspectives to innovate new AI-powered processes, while their more tenured colleagues adapt proven strategies to integrate these tools.
• Recruitment marketers are breaking through content creation bottlenecks with AI, enabling them to focus on strategy and engagement.
• Sourcers are expanding their reach without sacrificing authentic connections, using AI to identify and engage top talent faster.
• Teams are cutting research time in half with platforms like Talivity, reinvesting those hours into strategic hiring and relationship-building.

But here’s what keeps me up at night: the rise of “bots on bots” in recruitment.

When candidates use AI tools to craft applications and practice interviews, and recruiters use AI to screen and filter, how do we cut through the noise to find genuine talent? How do we ensure we’re identifying quality over quantity?

The most successful teams I’ve worked with aren’t asking, “What can AI do for us?” They’re asking, “What could our recruiters accomplish if they had more time for human connection?”

Are Recruiters Going to be Replaced by AI?

The future of recruitment isn’t about choosing between digital employees and human recruiters. It’s about leveraging both to achieve more. AI excels at handling repetitive, time-consuming tasks—screening resumes, scheduling interviews, and analyzing data. By delegating these tasks to digital employees, recruiters can focus on what they do best: building relationships, understanding candidate motivations, and making strategic hiring decisions.

What is the Future of AI in HR?

The question isn’t whether AI has a place in HR—it’s how we can use it to amplify human potential. So, I’ll leave you with this: What tasks would YOU delegate to a digital employee, so you can focus on the high-impact aspects of recruitment?

Let’s cut through the noise and build a future where technology empowers recruiters to do their best work.

Katie Fortunato

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President, Talivity Katie Fortunato is a passionate, purpose driven entrepreneur and executive. She is the President and co-founding employee of Talivity (formerly RecruitmentMarketing.com), a leading B2B marketplace for talent acquisition professionals. She oversees the company's growth efforts, strategic direction, content production and operations, and is dedicated to building a world class community to help navigate and improve the ever-evolving recruitment marketing landscape. She has held various roles across talent acquisition, media and entertainment. Her career began in recruiting where she was a hiring manager for a national workforce solutions provider, then worked at AOL and later as the Director of Partnerships at Dow Jones & Co, specifically for The Wall Street Journal, where she launched new lines of business. Katie also moonlights producing new works by emerging theater artists. She supports initiatives helping people move their lives “onward and upward” as the President of the Onward & Upward Foundation.