In a potentially radical shake-up of the job market, a startup called OptimHire has built new technology that turns the age-old job hunt into an AI-driven conversation between intelligent agents.
On Thursday, OptimHire unveiled Job Copilot, an autonomous job-seeking AI agent, and a new partnership with job sites CareerBuilder and Monster. OptimHire designed this technology to help candidates scour the internet for the best jobs and apply for them automatically.
OptimHire also offers similar AI tools for employers, helping them screen these AI-powered applications — and even interview candidates automatically.
AI on both sides of the job hunt
OptimHire built Job Copilot for candidates. With a few minutes uploading a résumé and setting preferences, this AI agent technology scans more than 300,000 companies, tailors applications, customizes résumés, and even writes cover letters. It applies to thousands of jobs around the clock, in theory while candidates are sleeping.
This tsunami of applications has created another challenge: overwhelmed hiring teams. That’s where OptimHire’s Recruiter AI service comes in. As Job Copilot floods employers with candidates, Recruiter AI automatically screens, ranks, and conducts interviews with them. It filters applicants using job-specific questions and ranks top candidates, surfacing the best fits for corporate HR teams.
“Almost every candidate is going to have their own AI persona,” Larry Kodali, CEO of OptimHire, told me in a recent interview. “Same thing with recruiters. Every company is going to have an AI recruiter because it screens out a lot of these job applications and eliminates a lot of the other work.”
OptimHire’s AI technology will conduct interviews of job candidates — from HR-level screening interviews to more advanced skill-based assessments of applicants, Kodali said.
“You can set up all the stages,” he said. “We currently focus on the initial interviews, and then after that, it’s all customizable based on the role. Clients can decide from each round of interviews what they want to do.”
From job boards to AI matchmaking
This model breaks sharply from the traditional playbook. Companies often pay thousands of dollars for sponsored posts on job sites and can wait weeks for human applicants to spot these listings and apply.
Now, companies can post a job and receive thousands of AI-generated applications in hours or even minutes, Kodali said. OptimHire’s Recruiter AI then filters and delivers a shortlist, sometimes before hiring managers have even finished their coffee.
A new normal in hiring?
OptimHire’s partnership with CareerBuilder and Monster extends its reach to more than 200 million candidates across sectors, including tech, finance, and healthcare. With $6 million in funding and $8 million in annual recurring revenue, Kodali said the startup has built eight specialized AI engines to handle everything from video and audio interviews to technical evaluations.
Whether this leads to more meritocratic hiring or just more noise remains to be seen. One thing’s clear: Machines are taking on more of the hiring process, on both sides of the equation.
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