For the time being, it is usually a human who decides who is invited to a job interview. However, the line between digital support and automated recruitment is beginning to blur. According to a representative Bitkom survey, 12 per cent of companies in Germany are already using artificial intelligence in their recruitment process. Other companies are open to its use – even to the extent of AI-led job interviews.

So far, AI is most widespread in areas where processes can be standardised relatively easily. 9 per cent of companies use AI to draft job advertisements, whilst a further 59 per cent can envisage doing so. 6 per cent already use such systems for the initial screening of incoming applications. When it comes to skills and potential assessments, the figure stands at 5 per cent.

However, AI is increasingly moving closer to the actual selection process. 2 per cent of companies already have job interviews conducted by AI. A further 17 per cent can envisage such use in the future. What is still the exception today could thus become a new frontier in HR automation.

This is because responsibility grows with every step taken from administrative support towards the assessment of people. AI can sort application documents, match skills or ask standardised questions. It becomes more difficult when context, personality and individual CVs need to be assessed. In recruitment in particular, the assumption that a technically standardised decision is automatically more objective is problematic.

This area is also sensitive from a regulatory perspective. The European AI Act classifies certain AI systems in the field of employment and staff selection as high-risk applications. For companies, this means stricter requirements regarding transparency, risk management and human oversight.

The technical infrastructure for further digitalisation has long been in place. Digital applications are standard practice; half of the companies surveyed offer video interviews, whilst 37 per cent use digital assessment centres or online tests.

The real question, therefore, is no longer whether AI will find its way into recruitment. Rather, the decisive factor will be where companies draw the line – between efficient support and the delegation of human responsibility.

Commentary: People must not be reduced to data sets in job interviews

Not every task that can be automated should be automated.

There is little issue with AI drafting job adverts, organising applications or coordinating appointments. Leaving a job interview entirely to a machine is quite another matter. This is not merely about determining whether certain qualifications are present. It is about motivation, personality, potential for development and, often, gaps in a CV that cannot be meaningfully squeezed into standardised assessment frameworks.

Added to this is a fundamental contradiction: for years, companies have been talking about candidate experience, corporate culture and personal interaction – and yet they might, of all things, automate what is perhaps the most important form of personal contact in recruitment.

The promise of greater objectivity should also be viewed critically. AI does not evaluate in a vacuum. It operates on the basis of data, models and predefined criteria. This does not necessarily eliminate errors or biases; they may simply become less visible.

AI can provide valuable support to HR professionals. It can structure information, prepare interview guides or streamline documentation. However, the responsibility for assessing a person should remain with a human being.

The job interview is not a mere administrative formality. Companies seeking trust and personality should also invest both of these qualities themselves in the selection process. [DCM]