
LinkedIn has launched its first AI agent, Hiring Assistant, a tool that automates many of the time-consuming tasks that traditionally bog down recruiters. The company announced today that select customers, including AMD, Canva, and Siemens, are already using the technology.
Recruiters often enter the field to help people find meaningful work, but the daily grind of administrative duties frequently gets in the way. According to LinkedIn, over half of HR professionals worldwide report facing heightened expectations and decision fatigue.
Hiring Assistant aims to alleviate this by managing routine tasks, giving recruiters more time to dedicate to impactful conversations and candidate experiences. The AI agent helps streamline the recruitment process by identifying suitable candidates, drafting outreach messages, scheduling interviews, and even following up on behalf of recruiters—all while ensuring recruiters remain fully in control.
"Recruiting is one of the most complex, yet important processes in business," says Josh Bersin, CEO of The Josh Bersin Company. He believes LinkedIn's new tool could "radically automate many steps" in the hiring process.
The timing is significant. LinkedIn's research shows that 55% of HR professionals feel overwhelmed by increased workplace expectations. Recruiters currently spend more than 20 hours weekly on administrative tasks – time they could use building relationships with candidates instead.
Here's how it works: You upload your job requirements – even in rough note form – and the AI agent transforms them into detailed job descriptions and immediately starts building a pipeline of qualified candidates. It taps into LinkedIn's massive database of 1 billion members and information about 41,000 different skills to find matches.
What's notable is the shift away from traditional hiring criteria. Instead of focusing on where candidates went to school or their previous employers, the system emphasizes skills-based matching. "We can give our hiring teams the space to focus on what truly matters – getting to know candidates as individuals," says Amy Schultz, global head of talent acquisition at Canva.
The technology is already showing promising results. Early data indicates that recruiters using LinkedIn's AI tools see 44% higher acceptance rates on their messages to candidates, with responses coming in 11% faster than traditional methods.
LinkedIn says it plans to expand the assistant's capabilities over the next year to include automated candidate follow-ups and interview coordination. This expansion signals a broader shift in how technology is reshaping the recruitment industry.
While the tool automates many tasks, LinkedIn emphasizes that recruiters remain in control of the hiring process. They can provide feedback on candidates, helping the AI learn their preferences and become more personalized over time.