Artificial Intelligence has quickly become part of how many businesses hire. From screening CVs to shortlisting candidates and matching skills to job descriptions, it’s made the process faster and more efficient.
But as AI becomes more common, we’re hearing more clients ask an important question: can AI really make hiring fairer, or could it actually make bias worse?
AI can be brilliant, but only if it’s balanced
There’s no doubt AI can make life easier. Some of our clients have used it really successfully to save time and reduce admin. One design agency we work with recently started using an AI assessment tool to shortlist candidates for junior designer roles. It cut their screening time in half and helped them get to interview stage much faster.
But after a few months, they noticed something odd. The shortlisted candidates were all coming from similar backgrounds and universities. The system was unintentionally favouring a certain type of applicant. When we looked into it, it turned out the AI was trained on their historical data, which reflected the kind of people they’d always hired before. It was simply repeating what it thought “good” looked like.
That’s the challenge. If the data it’s trained on carries old habits or bias, those same patterns show up in the results.
Why this matters for creative and marketing teams
In the creative world, diversity isn’t just a tick box exercise. It’s what drives new ideas. Different voices, different perspectives, different lived experiences, that’s what helps teams create brilliant, original work.
We worked with a global brand recently that was struggling to attract diverse applicants for a senior content role. They were relying heavily on automated job boards that kept surfacing the same kind of profiles. Together, we rewrote the job description, changed the language to make it more inclusive, and broadened where the role was shared. Within a few weeks, they started getting applications from people with very different backgrounds and skillsets. The person they eventually hired came from a completely different industry and brought a fresh perspective that the team said changed the way they worked.
When bias creeps into hiring, even unintentionally, it limits creativity. And that’s something no marketing or creative business can afford.
Five ways to keep your hiring fair and inclusive
- Ask questions about your tech
Not all AI tools work in the same way. Ask your providers how their algorithms are trained and what data they’re using. One of our clients switched ATS providers recently because their old system wasn’t anonymising CVs properly. The new one does, and they’ve already noticed a more balanced shortlist. - Keep humans in the process
AI should support hiring, not replace it. Humans bring context, empathy and understanding that technology just can’t. We often remind clients that while AI can match skills, it can’t assess potential or cultural fit in the same way a person can. - Check your job descriptions
The language you use really matters. Gendered or exclusive wording can affect who applies, and even how AI ranks applications. One client saw applications from women rise by nearly a third after we helped them rewrite a creative leadership advert that originally had quite masculine wording. Small tweaks can make a big difference. - Look at your outcomes
Keep an eye on who’s applying, who’s being shortlisted, and who’s being hired. If you’re not seeing much movement in those numbers, it might be worth reviewing how your AI tools are being used or what inputs they’re relying on. - Train your teams to notice bias
Awareness goes a long way. Encourage hiring teams to question results that don’t seem balanced. One of our clients added a simple “bias check” question into their interview debriefs: “Have we considered every candidate equally?” It’s a small thing, but it’s really changed how they discuss and compare candidates.
AI can help, if it’s used thoughtfully
AI doesn’t have to be a problem. Used carefully, it can actually help uncover untapped talent, highlight transferable skills and speed up hiring in a really positive way.
The key is balance. Use AI to support the process but keep human judgement at the heart of it.
At Beyond The Book, we’ve always believed that great recruitment comes down to people. Technology can help, but it’s the human insight, curiosity and care that make the biggest difference.
If you’d like to review how AI and automation fit into your current hiring process, we’d be happy to talk it through with you. Sometimes a few small changes can make a big impact on the diversity and quality of the talent you attract.
