How employers use AI 

AI is changing how we live and work, and now it's changing how people get hired. According to the State of AI in HR 2026 report, 39% of organizations have already implemented AI in their HR processes. And 27% of organizations use AI specifically in recruiting. ATS systems screen resumes, and chatbots run initial screening at any hour, in any language. AI avatars conduct video interviews with follow-up questions and tone-of-voice analysis. Here's what we're already seeing among the tools employers are adopting:

• Searching for candidates in open databases — AI analyzes profiles on platforms (LinkedIn, Habr, Geekjob, etc.), automatically finding relevant specialists.
• Candidate questionnaires — AI asks questions, evaluates answers, and determines whether the candidate meets the requirements.
• Video interviews with an AI avatar — technology allows AI to conduct interviews, ask questions, and even analyze tone of voice and emotions.
• Assessment of soft skills and personal qualities — AI can create detailed psychological profiles of candidates, identifying their values, preferences, and motivation level.
• Testing candidates — AI prepares test assignments, checks their completion, and even analyzes the candidate's thinking style.

All of this sounds inspiring. It feels like we're already in a bright future where robots do the work for us. However, according to the same research, 56% of organizations don't measure the success of their AI investments at all. If employees using these technologies do report improvements in efficiency, quality, and creativity, that's based on their personal impressions and perception, not on measured outcomes. We don't fully know how positively AI actually affects the hiring process. For example, when recruiters save many hours by using ATS to review resumes, do they find the ideal candidate? Or does it filter that candidate out because their resume was formatted incorrectly? We don't have a genuine answer.

How candidates use AI

Another question is how candidates feel about employers using AI in hiring. According to Gartner, only 26% of job seekers trust AI to evaluate their candidacy fairly. And 52% believe their resume is already being screened by AI, whether or not the employer says so.

In turn, candidates use AI themselves. A Gartner survey found that 4 in 10 candidates (39%) said they used AI during the application process. They rely on it to prepare resumes and cover letters, tailor a resume to a specific position, automate search and outreach, and even for AI prompting during a call to answer perfectly. There are also real cases of fraud, such as deepfake video and face-swapping through a virtual camera.

Why we choose human hiring over AI

What does this all add up to? Both sides are using AI to outsmart the other side's AI, and in the end, contact between people is completely lost. The hiring process risks turning into a technology race, behind which you can no longer see real people. And that doesn't work for us. We hire people to work with other people, not with AI, and we want them to become part of the team and share our values. Our recruiters can use AI for routine tasks, for example, to check the grammar of a job posting, sync calendars for scheduling interviews, or analyze the funnel to understand at which stage candidates drop off. But never for communicating with or evaluating people.

We handle all communication personally. We personally review every resume that comes in, we ask candidates the questions ourselves, and we're the ones who show up to video interviews with them. We don't delegate this to AI agents. 

At SmartState, a human looks for a human. That's why we try to stay HI in this AI world. By HI, we mean Human Intelligence. Because people are our main asset and our greatest priority.