Hiring fraud: why AI in recruitment could still be a mess in 2025
Generative AI tools are poised to take over a variety of more basic job functions. And In HR, recruiting and hiring is one area ripe for AI integration.
“There’s a significant chunk of the recruiting process that can be fully automated through AI,” said Jackie Watrous, senior director analyst in Gartner’s HR technology practice.
But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. Some of the new tools have flaws or come with ethical and bias concerns. Some workers are hesitant to engage with AI bots and other features during the hiring process. And employers are running into more cases of candidate fraud as job seekers use the tools themselves to enhance application materials.
There’s still a long way to go, and here are some major kinks employers will need to work out when it comes to using AI tools in their hiring processes in the coming year.
Hiring fraud
“One conversation that we’re having now is around what is fraud versus fair play when it comes to AI in hiring, both for employers and employees,” said Emily Rose McRae, senior director analyst at Gartner.
On the candidate side, job seekers are leveraging AI tools to enhance their resumes, cover letters and even come up with potential responses to interview questions. On the hiring side, employers are contacting candidates via AI bots, conducting AI video interviews, and using other tools not traditionally a part of the hiring process.
Figuring out how much of the hiring process technology should handle versus humans is not yet totally clear to candidates or organizations. Employers are concerned about the quality of candidates, and vice versa.
“I think a lot of organizations are trying to figure out, ‘what do we need to insert into our recruiting process that will help us make sure that we’re qualifying individuals in the right way,’” Watrous said.
She expects employers will lean more heavily on assessments and take-home assignments, and “maybe even a little bit more rigor in the interview process itself, in terms of digging in and making sure that somebody is coming to the table with the right skills for the job,” she said.
“As AI-generated applications become more prevalent, candidates who stand out by crafting personal, thoughtful submissions will have the edge. Originality and a strong personal voice will become essential to demonstrate authenticity and commitment,” said Annie Jackson, head of leadership hiring at fintech company Cleo.
Choosing the right tools
HR professionals have been swarmed with pitches for new AI tools targeted to streamline certain HR functions, with little to help them separate genuine tech innovation from the marketing hype.
But choosing the wrong vendor can be costly. Six in 10 businesses that regretted their HR software purchase characterize the financial impact as “significant or monumental,” with half reporting increased costs and/or losses in productivity, according to Capterra’s 2025 Tech Trends Survey.
Sifting through the noise and finding the best tools for specific organizations and processes will be a key goal for employers and HR teams in the coming year. Some workplace experts recommend a methodical approach: first considering the security and scalability of tools, then long-term viability, and specific use cases.
Stringing it all together
AI integration at organizations so far has been fragmented, meaning employers will focus more heavily on how exactly the tools they’re using fit together.
“I think organizations are starting to think, what are the features that we could string together to have the biggest impact on our process?” Watrous said.
“How do we string it all together to make our processes that much more efficient overall, so no longer looking at those pieces that they can plug in, but just holistically for our recruiting process, how are we using AI in the most impactful way?” she said.
The role of agentic AI in hiring
One key question HR professionals will continue navigating this year is: which parts of the hiring process don’t need a human, and which parts really do? According to Wartrous, many early parts of the process can be effectively handled by AI.
For instance, interview scheduling can be automated —— alleviating some administrative work on both sides. AI agents can also reach out to collect additional candidate information or answer candidate questions.
For early-round interviews, pre-recorded AI interviews can be leveraged to evaluate candidates based on the same set of questions. “If you can use an AI agent to do that, the amount of time that you’re saving from a recruiter standpoint is significant,” Watrous said.
“AI-driven recruitment will increasingly include pre-recorded video interviews, where candidates can respond to standardized questions at their convenience. This approach saves recruiters time, particularly when they receive a high number of inbound applications, and gives candidates more flexibility,” Jackson said.
But towards the middle and later parts of the process, more personalization is needed. “Candidates really want that deep personalization when they get later in the process, because now the decision making is that much more important,” she said.