Leaders from four of the largest US staffing firms and online platforms weighed in on artificial intelligence, the skills gap and more on Wednesday during a keynote panel led by SIA Barry Asin at the Executive Forum North America in Miami Beach, Fla.

Technology and its effect on staffing was a particular focus of their discussion.

“AI could completely transform the candidate experience,” said Linda Galipeau, CEO and executive board member, Randstad North America. It could do this by enabling staffing firms to give job candidates a more personalized experience and do so on a large scale.

Galipeau also noted that, regarding technology in general, several past predictions of technology doing away with the staffing industry have proven false.

In fact, “the staffing industry is typically the biggest beneficiary of advancing HR technology,” she said.

Steven Cooper, CEO, TrueBlue Inc., said his company’s JobStack online platform has seen 1 million people sign up.

“We went straight to the mobile direction,” Cooper said. “Our workers don’t have computers at home.” JobStack is available for both Apple iOS and Android OS. TrueBlue’s brands include blue-collar staffing brand PeopleReady.

One question to the panel: How do they get users at client companies to use the app?

Cooper said it may take a bit of work to get some to try the app, but “when they do, it’s a joyful experience.”

When turning to online staffing platforms, enterprise-level, large firms also tend to experience the most difficult time hiring the first few workers, said Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork. “For a lot of organizations what is really hard is the transformation.”

However, enterprise companies are the fastest-growing portion of Upwork’s business, Kasriel said.

“The reason it is growing extremely fast is because of the skills gap,” he said. Reqs are open for long periods of time and it can be tough to find skills locally. And online, there are more qualified people globally looking for work than there are jobs online.

Panelists were also asked what staffing will look like when it comes time for the 2028 Executive Forum. One prediction: Traditional staffing firms will continue to do the more difficult recruiting tasks, said The Adecco Group's John Marshall III, regional head of North America, UK and Ireland – Professional Staffing. Marshall made the parallel to travel agencies — they still exist today, but they are focused on the more complex trips. Travelers use online platforms for the standard trips.

Galipeau had her own take on 2028 predictions. “I think this group will be a little more diverse,” she said.