We find ourselves in the era of AI, and its influence has touched nearly every industry in some manner. As various sectors stand at the cusp of significant change, Chris Hyams, the CEO of Indeed, has unveiled his strategy involving generative AI. His plan involves crafting 'cyborg' recruiters that synergise the capabilities of humans and AI, ushering in a new era of innovation in the hiring process. 

The goal is to eradicate monotonous and tiresome recruitment tasks, all the while harnessing the distinctive strengths of both human expertise and machine intelligence.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Hyams disclosed that about 50 recruitment staff members from Indeed have transitioned to a service known as Indeed Hire. This service operates as a comprehensive agency, offering support to external companies in their recruitment endeavours. The integration of AI technology is aimed at optimising the efficiency of this role by identifying and automating repetitive and arduous tasks.

This envisioned collaboration between human and machine takes the form of a 'cyborg model,' where both elements cooperate seamlessly. It's essential to highlight that the objective isn't to replace recruiters with robots, but rather to empower them with a kind of 'Iron Man suit' that amplifies their capabilities.

“We have transferred about 50 of our own recruitment people to a product we call Indeed Hire, which is a full-service agency that helps other companies hire. We're using AI to make this role more efficient. What are the aspects of recruiting that are repetitive, that are annoying? I think of it as the cyborg model — machines and humans working together. We're not trying to replace you with robots. I want to build the Iron Man suit for recruiters,” said Chris Hyams. 

The emergence of generative AI technologies, like ChatGPT, has brought forth the possibility of automating various tasks in the recruitment field. These tasks encompass tasks like crafting resumes, generating job descriptions, and even handling salary negotiations. 

In March of this year, Indeed carried out a staff reduction of approximately 15%, equating to around 2,200 individuals. Addressing the layoffs, Hyams commented, "When things got busy for us, we just kept hiring more and more people. We had never had a layoff before in the company…. I regret having that kind of impact on people's lives." Interestingly, this reduction in workforce did not extend to the AI team within the company.