Can AI make recruitment more human? 🤔 In this episode of Talking Talent meets RecTalk, recorded live at IHR Live London 2026, Sean Kennedy and Nitin Sharma are joined by Pete Van Neste, Chief Revenue Officer at Pinpoint, to discuss one of the biggest questions facing talent acquisition teams today: how can we use AI and automation without losing the human touch? With recruitment teams under pressure to do more with less, AI is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation. But while some organisations are racing to adopt new technology, others are concerned about candidate experience, personalisation and what automation means for the future of recruitment. Pete shares what he’s hearing from talent teams, how recruitment technology is evolving, and why automation could be the key to building more human, candidate-centric hiring processes. 🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS: • AI and automation in recruitment: Why some teams are embracing the technology while others are still figuring out where to start. • Ending candidate ghosting: How proactive updates, automated reminders and response-time SLAs can help ensure candidates aren’t left wondering what’s happening. • Making candidate experience more human: Why automation should support recruiters, not replace meaningful conversations. • Personalised candidate communication: How AI can help recruiters provide more relevant updates, thoughtful rejection feedback and tailored interview conversations. • The power of recruitment data: Using candidate wait times, interview notes, transcripts and scorecards to identify bottlenecks and improve hiring processes. • AI-powered recruitment workflows: How proactive alerts and automation can help recruiters and hiring managers stay on track. • The future of AI agents: Pete’s prediction for recruitment processes increasingly managed by AI agents, with humans involved at the moments that matter. • Smarter hiring decisions: How AI can help teams improve their processes, reduce duplicated assessments and learn from previous hiring outcomes. • Hiring for skills and potential: Why finding the right person means balancing the skills needed today with the ability to learn, grow and scale with the business. 💡 ONE KEY TAKEAWAY Automation shouldn’t mean less human connection. Done well, it gives recruiters more time to focus on the conversations that matter, while ensuring every candidate receives timely communication, clearer expectations and a better experience. 👥 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR This episode is for talent acquisition leaders, in-house recruiters, HR professionals, recruitment technology providers, employer branding teams and hiring managers who want to understand how AI can improve recruitment without compromising the candidate experience. Whether you’re already experimenting with AI or still working out where it fits into your hiring strategy, this conversation offers practical ideas for making automation work for people. In-house recruitment professionals came together to discuss the challenges, ideas and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition. This episode is part of the Talking Talent x RecTalk conversations from the event. If you enjoyed the conversation, like, share and subscribe for more discussions with the people and businesses shaping recruitment. GUEST — Pete Van Neste: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-van-neste/ Learn more about Pinpoint: https://www.pinpointhq.com/ HOSTS Sean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/ Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Recorded live at IHR Live London 2026: https://www.inhouserecruitment.co.uk/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ Find out more about RecTalk: https://rectalk.co.uk/ #RecTalk #TalkingTalent #Recruitment #TalentAcquisition #HR #RecruitmentTechnology #ArtificialIntelligence #AIinRecruitment #CandidateExperience #Automation #Pinpoint #IHRLive2026