OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research and development company, on Thursday revealed a new model dubbed “o1” that has advanced reasoning capabilities. This development opens the door to a new wave of autonomous AI agents and could make non-human staffing tasks, such as recruiting even easier.  

Until recently, artificial intelligence models haven’t been good at reasoning, limiting what they can do for staffing firms. 

 Yet, the announcement by the maker of ChatGPT on Sept. 12 has the potential to change that.   

OpenAI’s new model cites improvement in solving complex math problems that require detailed reasoning. While the company’s prior model solved only 13% of such problems, the new reasoning model reportedly correctly answered 83%.  

It also now performs at the level of PhD students on analytically challenging problems across a wide range of academic disciplines, according to the company. 

What does this mean to the staffing industry? With these new capabilities, semi-autonomous AI agents could, for example, receive a req, reach out to candidates, schedule interviews, conduct the interviews and present a short list, all without any human intervention. 

In 2023, SIA assessed the industry’s adoption of AI and forecast that 39% of all activities in the full recruiting cycle would be replaced by AI within three years, based on the findings of an industry expert panel.  

SIA recently updated this estimate to 41%.  

AI capabilities will evolve dramatically, the panel forecast. Indeed, one tech CEO estimated an improvement of five to seven times. At the same time, the competitive pressures applied by those who successfully incorporated AI into their operations, would push more AI adoption. 

The OpenAI model’s new capability is an example of improved abilities that expand the value of AI in the staffing industry and contribute to its adoption.  One of changes that has been predicted — but not as yet fully realized — is the development of autonomous AI agents.  Products already in development or in beta can replace many of the functions of a traditional recruiter, and the new, advanced reasoning promises to bring these closer to realizing their full potential. 

Based on recent interviews with enterprise organizations and tech suppliers to the industry, these type of AI agents are already in development, and in some cases, commercially available. With improved reasoning, their capability — and therefore impact on the industry — will only accelerate.  How these AI agents meet the evolving wave of regulatory activity aimed at AI and bias is unclear, and considering their autonomous nature would seem to open the door to new areas of risk, and, as a result, regulation. 

Those interested in understanding more about the impact of AI in the staffing industry will learn more at SIA’s Collaboration in the Gig Economy conference next week in Dallas, featuring a keynote by Chief Analyst Barry Asin and Research Director Brian Wallins on the future of AI, along with an entire track of featured sessions focused on AI and the future of work.