Dive Brief:

• An increasing number of companies are turning to 'bots' to aid in the recruitment process, reports SHRM. Eyal Grayevsky, the co-founder of FirstJob, an early-career marketplace, told SHRM that the FirstJob's chat bot, named Mya, helps to screen and make contact with new candidates when recruiters are busy with other aspects of the placement process. 
• Other companies are catching on to the use of artificial intelligence to power chat bots, like TARA, which helps recruiters hire freelancers. LinkedIn has a built in conversation starter that helps users introduce themselves before a call or meeting. Even job seekers are creating their own chat bots that help introduce them to potential employers.
• Grayevsky advises that chat bots are what's going to help many more recruitment pros succeed in the future, but he cautions against losing the human element of recruitment along the way. 

Dive Insight:

Human resource and recruitment technology sure have come a long way. The use of chat bots and artificial intelligence to augment recruitment tasks is growing in scope, and pretty soon everyone will have a personal bot assistant to handle all the small talk.

Are people less comfortable introducing themselves or as recruiters, or are we under so much pressure that we no longer have time to pick up the phone and make the introductions? That aside, HR departments could certainly benefit from the increased efficiency, and it will be interesting to learn more about how candidates view such technologies. Time will tell whether bots will improve the overall experience of finding a job or become another barrier for job seekers.