AI has become difficult to avoid in our life, including in the day-to-day HR work. Nowadays, AI is often used in recruitment, from CV screening to chatbots conducting interviews. However, is this legally permitted, and are the candidates happy about it?
Where AI Is Used Today
AI now appears throughout recruitment: drafting job postings, structuring and comparing CVs, chatbots conducting initial contact, and tools analysing video interviews. For high-volume roles this eases the administrative burden; for specialised or key positions, employers still tend to prefer purely human assessment.
Candidate Perceptions
Distrust is growing among applicants even as employers adopt AI more widely. Many candidates dislike having their CV assessed by an algorithm, and even fewer accept AI evaluating an interview. Most trust a human recruiter more than an algorithm and expect a person to make the final decision, an expectation stronger among candidates than employers. AI may assist, but should not decide.
The Legal Framework
Under the EU AI Act, AI systems used for recruitment, selection, or career-development decisions are classified as high-risk. This means that employers deploying such tools must comply with the following:
- comply with provider instructions;
- ensure effective human oversight;
- monitor system output;
- keep staff adequately trained;
- inform candidates when a high-risk AI system is used;
- retain relevant logs; and
- report risks or serious incidents to the provider.
However, the EU AI Act is not the only legislation to keep in mind – the other existing legislation also continues to apply, including:
- Anti-discrimination law: Under anti-discrimination law, an employer is liable if an AI tool structurally disadvantages groups based on gender, age, or origin without lawful justification, just as with a human decision; algorithms trained on biased historical data can replicate and reinforce that bias.
- GDPR: employers must inform candidates when and how AI processes their data and the logic applied, typically via the privacy notice; the AI Act adds obligations to inform candidates they were assessed by AI and to allow human intervention or a challenge to the decision. Consent is not automatically required and is often unsuitable as a legal basis given the unequal power balance between candidate and employer. Human oversight must ensure a person makes the final decision, and data minimisation requires processing only what is necessary, without indefinite retention.
Where AI Helps, and Where It Should Stop
AI usefully handles administrative tasks: job postings, CV structuring, scheduling, and language checks, saving time without replacing human judgment. Risks arise once AI becomes the decision-maker: bias, loss of human connection on cultural fit and motivation, and candidates gaming the system. Tools claiming to assess personality or cultural fit from a CV or video are scientifically doubtful, and the AI Act itself flags the limited reliability of inferring emotion or personality.
Practical Recommendations
Some practical takeaways for HR when using AI during recruitment:
- Use AI to save time, not to make final decisions.
- Be transparent with candidates about when and how AI is used.
- Keep a human in control of the final decision, with a route for reconsideration.
- Adopt a simple AI policy covering permitted tools, data handling, and retention periods.
- Clarify responsibilities with the AI provider contractually, including who informs candidates and who is liable for a discriminatory outcome, since candidates will hold the employer, not the software provider, accountable.
Conclusion
AI in recruitment is neither a passing trend nor a miracle solution. Used well, it saves considerable administrative time, but the law and candidates alike require that humans remain in control of the final decision. Employers should combine AI use with transparency, human oversight, and vigilance against bias. Reliance is a law firm specialized in assisting companies in every legal aspect of HR. We are happy to assist you with any question you may be confronted with regarding the use of AI during the employment relation