Beyond the AI Hype: Why Human Recruiters Are More Essential Than Ever in 2025

a person sitting at a computer looking at a resume

As anyone who reads my column regularly knows, I am a strong advocate for utilizing AI. I believe it will transform both human resources and recruiting. But as with every new technology, there is a tendency to overhype it.

In recruiting and HR, artificial intelligence is nearing the peak of its hype cycle. Vendors claim that AI can streamline hiring, eliminate bias, predict job performance, and completely replace human recruiters. This may eventually be true, but we have a long way to go.

The tools available today provide fast and more effective candidate sourcing, automate interviews, engage candidates, and offer seamless onboarding that requires minimal human intervention. But, as with past waves of technologies, reality is already beginning to catch up with the rhetoric. These tools can deliver on that promise, but only with human intervention to overcome their shortcomings.

A growing concern is the emergence of hallucinations when AI