While the conversation around generative AI isn’t new, how it applies to staffing continues to evolve rapidly. Whether you’re talking in sales calls, board meetings or with candidates, it’s a hot topic that isn’t going anywhere.

What’s more, SIA research found that experts believe AI will actually replace 39% of recruiting activities within the next three years. That means nearly two days of work per week could be affected. Recruiters are adapting to these changes quickly, but they might also be wondering: How did GenAI take off, and why now?  

The “how” of GenAI’s rise to popularity centers around an increase in available training data that has made GenAI more prevalent and applicable in recent years. This, combined with breakthroughs in computing and algorithms, has hyper-charged the development of GenAI solutions, meaning that what’s on the market today is far superior to anything staffing teams have seen before.

Of course, there is much more to the “how” than the scale of GenAI, but to understand the impact, let’s consider the “why now.” Given the dynamic nature of the current hiring landscape, employers are keen to arm their staffing teams with technology that reduces tedious administrative tasks to drive faster, higher-quality outcomes. Many are finding GenAI-powered solutions to help accomplish this.

That said, recruiting processes need to be considered holistically. LLMs and GenAI should be applied as part of a larger technology platform to empower workflows without sacrificing any overarching strategy. This allows for better specialization and more effective application of GenAI tools.

GenAI has come a long way in the last several years and, when used appropriately, could have a sizable impact on the future of work. Right now, it’s massively impacting time savings and manual tasks. In the future, as its capabilities continue to grow, we could see the technology harnessed in a way that allows recruiters to interact more with candidates, better analyze candidates’ work experience, and enable recruiters to better exercise their individual expertise.

In short, accelerated adoption and advancement of GenAI makes it possible to streamline day-to-day work. Although some research shows recruiting activities may be automated in the coming years, there is little evidence that staffing teams face any direct threat from these emerging technologies.

Instead, the human nature of hiring means that recruiters can leverage GenAI to take care of the busy work, leaving them more time to focus on strategy and building meaningful connections with candidates.  Maybe that’s why some 62% of recruiting professionals express optimism about AI’s impact on talent acquisition. Either way, when it comes to what to expect next, it’s clear that staffing teams and GenAI must learn to work together.