Humanized AI in hiring: an empirical study of a virtual AI job interviewer’s social skills on applicants’ reactions and experience

In this study, we investigate the effects of the use of advanced technologies based on AI in HRM, and particularly the use of virtual agent embedding anthropomorphic features in recruitment interview (hereafter referred to as AI job interviewer). We question the extent to which the AI job interviewer endowed with social skills affects the nature of the interaction, and specifically, applicants' perceptions, experience and reactions during the interview. We focus on intimacy as a core social skill. Data were gathered from 94 applicants who completed an interview training session with an AI job interviewer that exhibited either multimodal expression of intimacy behaviors or no intimacy behaviors. Following the interaction, participants completed a questionnaire asking about their perceptions of intimacy, user experience, impression management and fairness. The findings demonstrate the reciprocity of intimacy behaviors and a positive user experience in the intimacy condition. By illustrating how AI job interviewers with social skills can affect the social relation established during a recruitment interview and provide satisfactory experiences, the present study offers promising avenues for improving the quality and effectiveness of human resource tools using AI devices, while also highlighting some managerial and ethical concerns.