A plain answer: what an AI recruiter does, what it is not, the three kinds on offer and how to judge one before you buy.
An AI recruiter is software that does the recruiting work on an open role. It searches for people, contacts them, holds first calls, books interviews and ranks candidates against your brief. Your team sets the limits, meets the final people and decides who to hire.
The name is used loosely. Some products that carry it do one step. Others do nearly all of it. This page shows you the work, the kinds on offer and how to judge one before you buy.
Most of the hours in a hire sit between the brief and the final interview. That is the part a full AI recruiter takes on.
| Step | The AI recruiter | Your team |
|---|---|---|
| Brief | Reads the role, the must-haves and where you can bend | Gives the brief and sets the limits |
| Search | Searches the market, including people who are not looking | Checks the first people it finds |
| Outreach | Contacts people, follows up and answers replies | Decides what may be said |
| First call | Says it is an AI, explains the role and answers questions | Reads what came out of it |
| Terms | Aligns pay, conditions and start date | Sets the range |
| Interviews | Books them into your calendar | Holds the final interviews |
| Decision | Ranks people against the same criteria and shows the evidence | Decides who gets the offer |
It is not an ATS. An ATS is a system of record. It does not contact anyone. An AI recruiter does the work, and the results go into the system you already use.
It is not a job board. A job board waits for people to apply. An AI recruiter also goes out and finds people who never saw your advert.
It is not the decision maker. It can rank people and show why. It should not choose who gets hired.
It is also not an agency with a new label. We cover that difference in AI recruiter vs AI recruitment agency.
Ask a supplier where the product starts and where it stops. The answer usually puts it in one of three groups.
| Kind | Starts | Stops | Left for your team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourcing assistant | At the search | At a list and draft messages | Outreach, calls, scheduling, terms |
| Screener | After someone applied | At an interview result | Finding people, scheduling, terms |
| AI recruiting team | At the brief | At your final people to meet | Final interviews and the decision |
All three can be useful. The right one depends on where your hours go today.
It helps most when the same steps repeat across many people. Clear criteria, plenty of follow-ups and a hiring manager who wants to spend time only on the final people.
It helps less when one relationship decides the hire, such as a delicate executive move. There, a specialist recruiter earns their place. An AI team can still carry the repeat work around them.
It also needs care. Candidates can be wary of AI, and any scoring can carry bias. That is why the limits, the disclosure and the human decision matter. Read the disadvantages of AI in recruitment. See our responsible AI hiring checklist.
World Mobile Group needed a QA Specialist. MetaDay did the work between the brief and the final interview. World Mobile's team held that interview and made the decision.
From open role to signed hire: one working day. Read the World Mobile case study.
One hire is not a promise for every role. It does show where the time goes. Finding people is rarely the slow part. Everything after it is. Read more on whether AI recruiters work.
Candidates ask the same things from the other side. Our guide on whether AI recruiters are legit covers it.
Suppliers price per seat, per open role or per hire. Compare what is included before you compare the number.
MetaDay is priced per open role: $299 a month billed yearly, $399 billed quarterly or $499 month to month, with no fee per hire. Scout, which finds and ranks people, is free to start. Current prices are on the pricing page.
No. An ATS is a system of record. It holds candidates and hires. An AI recruiter does the work: it searches, contacts, calls, books and ranks. The two sit side by side, and the results go into the system you already use.
No. It takes over the repeat work, such as searching, following up and scheduling. People keep the judgement: knowing the hiring manager, reading the person and closing the hard conversation. One recruiter can then give every open role proper attention.
A good one does. It should say so at the start, name the company it works for and give the candidate a way to reach a person. Ask any supplier to show you this on a real call.
Your team. An AI recruiter can rank people and show the evidence behind each rank, but people should meet the finalists and decide who gets the offer.
In most markets, yes, with conditions. The rules differ by country. The EU AI Act treats AI used in hiring as high risk, and some US states add their own rules. Check what applies to you before you start.
Suppliers price it in different ways, such as per seat, per open role or per hire. Compare what is included before you compare the number. MetaDay is $299 to $499 per open role a month, depending on billing, with no fee per hire.
MetaDay is the AI recruitment team behind your one recruiter.
It runs the hire. You make the final decision.
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