7 Conversational AI Tools for Volume Hiring

That’s up to 30% of the week gone before you even get to the work you signed up for - which is the actual talking to candidates.

Conversational AI tools help fix that. These AI-powered platforms use natural language processing (NLP) to mimic human language and chat with candidates, check basic fit, and book interviews, all in real time, and without you needing to lift a finger.

Below, we’ve shortlisted the best conversational AI-powered recruitment platforms built to keep volume hiring fast, responsive, and on track.

What is a conversational AI platform?

A conversational AI platform is software that uses artificial intelligence to hold real, two-way conversations with candidates. Instead of filling out forms or waiting on emails, applicants interact with an AI assistant directly on WhatsApp, Messenger, or by phone, just like they would with a recruiter.

The system listens, understands context, and replies in real-time. It uses NLP and natural language understanding (NLU) to pick up intent, not just keywords. That means it can screen, schedule, and respond just like a human would, without the wait.

All right, with this out of the way, let’s look at some tools that can help you speed up your volume hiring workflows.

1. Carv

Carv's AI recruitment platform runs the front end of your hiring process. From application to placement, the conversational AI tool can handle every candidate touchpoint that doesn’t require face-to-face contact with the recruiter.

The conversational AI platform can be used by both in-house teams and staffing agencies - what matters is not the size of the hiring team, but the volume of applicants they need to screen and interview for each role.

Given that in volume hiring the vacancies are generally for blue collar roles, and the barrier to entry is low, recruiters have to process hundreds of applications per role. But nobody has the time to do this, so what usually happens is that they end up screening only a batch of candidates before they make a short list and proceed to scheduling interviews.

Carv’s conversational AI chatbots can fix this by taking over the communication with job seekers in the pre-screening and scheduling phase.

How it works

To get started, you need a vacancy. This can come from your ATS, a career page, or a job board.

Once you give Carv the URL or the text of the vacancy, it will automatically launch a conversation flow where an AI agent will reach out to candidates to ask them screening questions. These questions can be personalized to fit your tone of voice and to ensure the conversation doesn’t deviate too much from the main topic.

However, unlike regular chatbot technology, Carv’s conversational AI doesn’t require the recruiter to manually build the logic tree or the workflow. This is done by the AI system automatically, within minutes.

So, once the chat flow is ready, you can launch the AI chatbot, which will now serve as your recruitment assistant for that specific vacancy.

Once a candidate applies to the role and leaves their contact details, the AI chatbot will kick in and either call or message the candidate. The answers will be scored against your hiring criteria, so only matching candidates will be shortlisted for interviews.

The conversational AI chatbot - be it a voice assistant or a text chatbot - can talk to candidates in 99 languages and can pre-screen 24/7, ensuring not just great conversational experiences for candidates, but also an extremely efficient volume hiring process.

And the best part is that you don’t need to change your current workflows. Just integrate Carv with your ATS if you want the screening data automatically logged into your system, and connect it to your calendar so that Carv can schedule interviews on your behalf.

Use cases

If your recruiters are screening hundreds or thousands of candidates a week, Carv handles the volume without slowing you down.

It's a strong fit for roles in logistics, retail, contact centers, manufacturing, hospitality, and any other industry where speed is of crucial importance.

As far as use cases go:  

• Pre-screen for blue collar and frontline positions like warehouse staff, drivers, or customer support, no CV required.

• Automate scheduling across shifts, teams, or locations without endless email back-and-forth.
• Reach candidates on WhatsApp or by phone call in real-time, and keep them warm with updates and reminders.
• Reduce no-shows by making it easy to reschedule and stay in the loop.

The AI understands what candidates are saying and responds accordingly. You can customize knockout criteria, set interview windows, and step in at any time, but for most candidates, the process runs entirely without manual input.

Results

If your current setup buckles under pressure, or your team is drowning in repetitive tasks, Carv lightens the load, so you can optimize your recruitment process without sacrificing the human connection.

On average, recruiters using Carv’s AI assistant report:

• 3× more hires per recruiter
• 60% shorter time to hire
• 70% fewer manual tasks during screening and scheduling

If you want to see more specific use cases, you can book a demo here.

2. Paradox – Olivia Assistant

One of the legacy solutions on the market, ​Olivia by Paradox helps take the busywork out of high-volume hiring.

Olivia chats with candidates over text or chat, answers questions, screens for basic fit, and lines up interviews. The chatbot mainly used by teams in retail, hospitality, healthcare, and logistics to keep hiring streamline without all the usual back-and-forth.

How it works

Olivia acts as a virtual agent, managing early candidate interactions so recruiters can stay focused on closing roles.

• The assistant handles screening, scheduling, and common questions through conversational interfaces like SMS, web chat, and voice.
• It uses natural language understanding (NLU) to interpret responses and move candidates through the right next step.
• This AI-powered system delivers a consistent experience across all messaging channels, improving engagement and reducing drop-off.

Olivia is known for delivering a smooth user experience and helping candidates feel seen, even when hiring happens at scale.

How to get started

You can easily connect Olivia to your existing ATS and calendar tools via APIs. Paradox integrates also with platforms like Outlook, Gmail, and most major applicant tracking systems. Its no-code setup and pre-built templates make it fast to launch, even for busy teams.

Results

Companies using Olivia often report faster hiring cycles and less manual work for recruiters.

• McDonald's used Olivia to automate screening and scheduling at scale, cutting time-to-hire by 60%.
• Nestlé saved over 8,000 recruiter hours in a single year by using Olivia to handle initial customer engagement.

3. HireVue

HireVue is another conversational AI platform that can support volume hiring, although the platform isn’t built specifically for blue collar roles.

The tool helps finance, retail, and tech recruitment teams assess candidates faster, without sacrificing the human side of decision-making.

How it works

HireVue combines video interviewing with AI models trained to evaluate both what candidates say and how they say it.

• Candidates complete structured interviews that use virtual agents to ask questions and capture user inputs.
• Natural language understanding (NLU) and computer vision help assess user intent, communication skills, and role fit.
• Recruiters review responses when it suits them, no need for live calls or back-to-back bookings.

This improves the user experience for both sides: candidates move through the process quicker, and recruiters get consistent data to work from.

How to get started

HireVue is a cloud-based solution with API connections to most applicant tracking systems. The no-code setup makes it easy to roll out without a heavy lift from engineering. For larger teams, it's part of a scalable recruitment ecosystem that works across locations and job types.

Results

The HireVue platform is designed to improve customer satisfaction and hiring speed at the same time.

• Globe Telecom used HireVue to cut their time-to-offer from 16 to 7 days and raised their interview-to-offer ratio to 90%.
• Lion reduced their average time-to-hire by two weeks by using AI-scored video assessments.

4. hireEZ (Formerly Hiretual)

​hireEZ, (formerly Hiretual) gives recruiting teams a smart way to source. It's built for busy teams hiring in tech, healthcare, and e-commerce. The AI works in the background to handle the repetitive admin tasks and learns with you.

How it works

The hireEZ platform combines artificial intelligence and machine learning to handle large-scale sourcing tasks.

• It searches over 800 million profiles from job boards, social sites, and databases to surface top matches.
• It lets recruiters build personalized outreach campaigns, automates follow-ups, and tracks responses.
• It matches candidates to open roles using skill-based filters and real-time data.

How to get started

hireEZ integrates with 30+ ATS and CRM platforms, so setup fits into most teams' existing workflows. Key features includes real-time analytics to help track progress and adjust your sourcing strategy as you go.

Results

Recruiters using hireEZ often see better reach and faster response rates.

• WilsonHCG tripled response rates and cut spending on sourcing tools after adopting hireEZ.
• HatchWorks reduced LinkedIn Recruiter costs by 61% and cut time-to-hire by 40%.

5. Amazon Lex

Amazon Lex brings powerful conversational AI technology to your recruitment tech stack. It's part of the same large language models (LLMs)that power Alexa, built to help teams create chatbots and virtual assistants that feel like human agents, without needing to build from scratch.

How it works

Lex uses speech recognition and natural language processing (NLP) to create AI chatbots that can talk to candidates in real-time. You can build a bot that screens applicants, answers FAQs, or helps them schedule interviews, on any channel.

It understands user intent, not just keywords, so candidates can speak naturally. Lex also supports multilingual messaging, which makes it useful for global or frontline hiring.

How to get started

To use Lex, you'll need an AWS account and someone to handle setup. You can build conversation flows through a drag-and-drop interface, or integrate Lex into your own recruitment apps using API access.

It also works well inside larger Amazon workflows if you already use AWS tools across your tech stack.

Results

Companies like Morrisons and Connect Health use Lex to manage high volumes of candidate interactions without adding recruiter load. Teams use it to support self-service, reduce contact center volume, and improve customer satisfaction through faster responses.

For in-house tech teams or hiring functions already working inside the AWS ecosystem, Amazon Lex is a scalable and flexible conversational AI solution.

6. Workday

Workday's AI recruitment tools are built for large organizations that want to move faster without changing their workflow. The AI capabilities are part of Workday's broader HR system, which helps hiring teams reduce manual tasks and keep the process smooth for both recruiters and candidates.

How it works

Workday uses conversational AI tools, AI agents, and natural language processing (NLP) to reduce manual tasks and improve recruiter focus.

• It generates job descriptions using generative AI, saving time and keeping tone consistent across roles.
• It scans past applicants, current employees, and more talent pools to surface best-fit candidates using predictive models.
• It uses smart AI agents to handle scheduling, checking calendars and sending invites automatically.

Because it's built on natural language understanding (NLU), the system can hold human-like conversations with candidates. That improves response times and keeps the customer experience feeling personal, even at scale.

How to get started

If your team already uses Workday, you're good to go. The conversational AI technology features fit right into your current setup, with data flowing across modules like everything else. You can tweak settings, test things out, and get started without slowing down your day-to-day work.

Results

Workday highlights benefits like reduced recruiter workload, improved operational efficiency, and faster movement from job post to hire. Though exact metrics aren't publicly available, teams report fewer delays, smoother customer interactions, and a measurable lift in overall hiring performance.

7. IBM watsonx Orchestrate

watsonx Orchestrate is made for HR teams who want to drop the admin and still stay in control. The AI applications automate tasks like interview scheduling, and candidate follow-ups. Orchestrate integrates with tools such as Salesforce, Workday, Outlook, and Gmail, ensuring a smooth workflow without needing specialized training.

How it works

watsonx can draft job descriptions, publish roles, source profiles, or kick off a candidate search.

Behind the scenes, it uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing to understand your intent, with support from sentiment analysis, and connect tasks across your tools.

The best part is that you can ask it to handle admin in plain language, like you're talking to a colleague, thanks to its built-in dialog flow that responds naturally.

How to get started

If you’re new to the world of chatbots, watsonx is a user-friendly place to start. You don't need to rebuild your stack.

watsonx plugs into the HR systems you already use. IBM offers ready-made flows for recruiting, and you can customize them as you go. There's a live demo environment to try things out before you launch.

Results

Recruiting teams use watsonx to skip the repetitive stuff, things like scheduling or tracking candidate responses.

IBM's own team used it to manage internal learning programs, and saw faster coordination and better employee engagement. For hiring teams, the payoff is more time to focus on people, not process.

Conclusion

If you're hiring at volume, you already know how messy it gets. Conversational AI can act like a virtual assistant that handles admin, responds to candidates, and keeps your recruitment process moving behind the scenes.

Carv’s conversational artificial intelligence is already helping hiring teams cut admin by 70%, make 3× more hires, and shorten time-to-hire by over half. It works across platforms, scales with your ecosystem and workflow, and makes the hiring process easier, for everyone involved.

If that sounds useful, take a look. Request a demo and see how it could work for your team.