Access to AI-powered hiring tools is the #1 factor HR professionals say would make the hiring process easier
Recruiters today are competing for both talent and for time. With application volumes surging and candidate expectations rising, the pressure to move fast and deliver hires without sacrificing quality is relentless.
Yet much of a recruiter’s day is still consumed by repetitive, time-intensive tasks that pull recruiters away from what matters most – building relationships and making great hires. For talent professionals, the question is no longer whether AI belongs in the process, but how it can be harnessed to remove friction and create space for more human, strategic work.
According to LinkedIn, recruiters are spending three to five hours a day reviewing applications, and 64% report that less than half of those applications meet all of the criteria listed. The need for smarter, more human-centred tools has never been clearer.
Access to AI-powered hiring tools is the #1 factor HR professionals (54%) in APAC say would make the hiring process easier, with nearly three-quarters (78%) saying AI makes it easier to find qualified candidates.
Enter Hiring Assistant, LinkedIn’s first AI agent. Built to reduce the administrative burden on recruiters, Hiring Assistant automates repetitive sourcing tasks, allowing talent professionals to focus on what they do best: building relationships, offering strategic counsel, and delivering a stellar candidate experience. And the results speak for themselves.
How Hiring Assistant is helping Aurecon supercharge recruitment using AI
When engineering, design and advisory firm Aurecon set out to drive efficiency within its recruitment process, the goal was clear: reduce manual effort, improve candidate quality, and empower recruiters to focus on strategic hiring – all of which are core benefits of Hiring Assistant. Aurecon recruiters Shaun Du Preez and Lucy McGhee fill highly specialised roles, such as senior hydraulics engineers and power systems engineers in competitive Australian markets.
Traditional sourcing methods were time-consuming and often yielded mismatched candidates. Opting to utilise LinkedIn’s Hiring Assistant, the recruiters quickly found that by defining their prompts and overall approach, they were receiving high-quality candidate recommendations overnight.
“LinkedIn’s Hiring Assistant isn’t just an AI tool — it’s a strategic partner and companion in our hiring process. It shows how AI can empower recruiters to do what they do best—connect the right people to the right opportunities,” added McGhee. “I had my doubts early on, it felt limited. But once the Hiring Assistant started adapting to feedback, everything changed. I brought my team back to the table to show them how powerful it had become. Now, I’m helping others see past those early impressions too.”
The results really speak for themselves. Du Preez estimated a 30% reduction in time spent on sourcing and even estimated the quality of AI-sourced candidates between seven and nine out of 10.
“The quality of candidates Hiring Assistant is surfacing is a game-changer — we’re finding candidates that had previously gone unnoticed even in niche markets.” added Du Preez.
A blend of AI and human intelligence
It’s not about replacing the human touch in recruiting, but rather elevating it through strategic use of AI and emerging tech. Someone who understands this better than most is Adam Gregory,Senior Director, ANZ Talent & Learning Solutions.
“Humans will always be at the center of work, especially when it comes to the hiring process which is all about relationships and people,” added Gregory.
This is where the brilliance in LinkedIn’s platforms comes to the surface - a blend of human expertise helped along by innovative AI tools. As Gregory told HRD, for talent professionals - with the pace of change accelerating - they have a massive opportunity to help their organizations grow in both of these two areas; AI and human skills.
“Organizations that help their teams build these skills will undoubtedly gain an edge. That’s why we’ve expanded our LinkedIn Learning library to over 1,000 AI courses.”
LinkedIn’s AI Academy to support an AI-powered future
To power this shift, LinkedIn has also launched AI Academy helping Talent Leaders and Recruitment professionals to build, practise, and prove in-demand AI skills.
For recruitment professionals, AI Academy offers a one-week guided learning experience. Each day, AI Academy will showcase the best of LinkedIn’s AI feature – helping recruiters unlock their full potential with smarter and faster hiring. With AI Academy, recruiters will;
- Discover how AI is reshaping talent acquisition and how it can seamlessly elevate your Recruiter workflow.
- Use AI tools to supercharge your sourcing and create impactful reports for your team.
- Learn how to craft smarter, more personalised outreach that gets results.
- See how Recruiter AI fits into your broader hiring tools and process.
- Take the assessment to earn your LinkedIn Recruiter AI Learning Certificate and showcase your success.
For leaders, LinkedIn is also offering targeted learning programs, such as AI for Organizational Leaders, Building an AI road map to success with Ross Dawson, and AI for Managers. Each one is designed to help leaders make smarter decisions, roll out AI with confidence, and lead teams that thrive in a world where AI is part of the job.
