How To Evaluate Recruitment AI (And Get Your Recruitment Website Ready For It)

If your recruitment agency is rethinking its recruitment website design or refreshing its recruitment marketing strategy, there’s no avoiding one hot topic: AI.

But not all AI is created equal.

In a recent episode of From The Source, SourceFlow’s Christian Coley sat down with Zach Sines, TA Technology Manager at North Highland, to unpack how staffing firms should think about recruitment technology—especially when it’s branded “AI-powered.”

Their conversation revealed something many in the industry are only starting to realise: evaluating recruitment AI isn’t just about features—it’s about outcomes, scale, and real partnerships.

Start With the Outcome, Not the Features

Zach’s most practical advice for recruiters?

“Ask what problem it’s solving. If you can’t answer that clearly, you’re not ready to invest.”

When improving your recruitment website design, don’t just bolt on AI features to appear modern. Instead, identify whether that chatbot, personalisation engine, or content generator actually moves the needle—does it attract better candidates? Improve conversion? Make your recruitment marketing more effective?

AI Doesn’t Replace Recruiters—It Supports Them

Zach was clear: AI isn’t about removing people from the process.

“You can’t AI-generate trust.”

Recruitment is still a relationship business. AI can help with job ad writing, automated screening questions, and sourcing assistance—but it can’t replace human conversations or empathy.

When redesigning your recruitment website, focus on how AI can enhance the candidate journey without removing the recruiter’s voice.

Know What AI Actually Means

Many platforms claim to use AI—but they’re often just automated workflows.

Understanding core concepts like natural language processing, machine learning, or large language models will help your team ask better questions and choose better tools.

Zach’s advice? Be sceptical of any tool that promises too much and shows too little. If it’s not improving your recruitment marketing efforts or candidate outcomes, it’s probably not worth the spend.

Make Sure Your Recruitment Website Design Can Scale

It’s easy to choose a tool that works today—but what about next year?

Zach emphasised the importance of scalability. When evaluating any recruitment AI solution or redesigning your recruitment website, consider:

• Can this platform evolve with your brand?

• Will it support new services, sectors, or teams?

• Is the provider open to co-creating features that support your growth?

North Highland, for example, worked with SourceFlow to create a bespoke referral solution that tied directly into their website—because the platform was built for partnership, not just plug-and-play.

Partnership Over Product

Zach said it best:

“We’re not just looking for features. We’re looking for partners who help us solve real problems.”

If your recruitment tech vendor isn’t willing to adapt, respond to feedback, or align with your long-term recruitment marketing goals, they’re probably not the right fit.

Final Thought: AI Isn’t a Strategy—It’s a Tool

As UK firms adopt more digital tools, it’s tempting to think of AI as the strategy itself. But the most effective firms will use AI to support the strategy—not define it.

Use AI to power your job ads, enhance recruitment website design, and give your recruitment marketing more reach—but always ensure there’s a clear human outcome.

---

If you would like to watch the full discussion between Christian and Zach, click the play button below.

SourceFlow do WAY more than industry-leading recruitment website design. We build recruitment websites and marketing tools that amplify ROI and provide transparency with state-of-the-art data insights.