Dive Brief:

• The vast majority of workers — 88% — said they’d be uncomfortable with the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) job interview app in the candidate screening process, according to a survey by The Harris Poll for Yoh.
• Among the respondents who rejected AI’s use, 55% said they would rather have an in-person interview, and 48% said they don't trust AI to interpret human emotions and cues with accuracy. Nearly half fear that AI could subject their biometrics to misinterpretation, possibly making them appear dishonest. And 38% said they wouldn't be able to gauge the interviewer’s reactions.
• Both younger and older generations were uncomfortable with the use of an AI app, but "significantly more" workers age 65 or older said they would prefer an in-person interview over use of an AI tool.

Dive Insight:

The percentage of workers uncomfortable with the use of AI for interviewing appears to be on the rise. In May, just a third of respondents to a Yoh survey disliked AI for virtual interviews, a sign that the "human touch" remains crucial for most candidates, regardless of their generation or how tech-savvy they are — particularly as AI goes mainstream.

The Yoh results and researchers' conclusions may help clue in employers on what can create a bad candidate experience, a potentially serious problem for talent pros. A recent PwC survey showed that nearly half of respondents turned down a job offer because of a negative candidate experience. Workers say they particularly dislike when employers fail to acknowledge receipt of an application, resume or other documents; fail to follow up after an interview; ghost, or decline to communicate with, a candidate; and fail to tell candidates that a hiring decision was made. 

Talent leaders may believe that they're using solid recruiting and hiring tactics, but job seekers may disagree. For example, 77% of recruiters in a Randstad Sourceright study said they think their candidate experience is "excellent" or "very good", but 84% of job seekers said they have had a negative experience as candidates; slightly more than half reported having more than one adverse encounter.

HR leaders will want to maintain the human touch in their recruiting strategies, but smart use of tech can make various tasks in the process more precise and efficient. For example, researchers at Penn State University developed an AI tool that they said can detect bias in hiring, pay practices and more. Such tools may be able to help recruiters recognize their own biases and avoid discriminatory practices in sourcing and hiring candidates.