HireVue’s CEO on the future of GenAI in HR: ‘Validated skills-based hiring is the currency of the future in talent acquisition’

AI is rapidly transforming talent acquisition, but how can HR ensure it’s used effectively and ethically?

HireVue CEO Jeremy Friedman believes validated skills-based hiring is the future, as both candidates and recruiters embrace GenAI.

In an exclusive conversation with UNLEASH, Friedman shares his key priorities and insights on AI’s role in HR, hiring, and the evolving talent landscape.

We also spoke to leading analysts—including Ben Eubanks, Josh Bersin, and Dr. Paola Cecchi—to explore AI’s impact on human decision-making, ethical considerations, and how HR leaders should prepare for the explosive growth of AI-driven hiring in 2025 and beyond.

Read on for the three key takeaways shaping the future of HR and AI.

1. ‘Validated skills’ will become the focus for talent acquisition

The shift in mindset from jobs and CVs or resumes to skills-based hiring has been gathering pace for several years now.

From studies highlighting this approach as “a necessity for survival” to advice on understanding that skills are “a data problem” – businesses around the world are pivoting to this future of work talent framework.

Friedman tells UNLEASH this trend is accelerating fast in 2025 with the growing adoption of GenAI, but that the conversation should now shift to “validated skills”.

“Skills-based hiring is multiple orders of magnitude more predictive for success than past indicators,” Friedman says.

HireVue CEO Jeremy Friedman

“It’s not unexpected that candidates are going to use AI, and should, in theory, be using AI to help write resumes and update LinkedIn profiles and make themselves as competitive as they can be for the roles that they’re going for. And obviously you can see where this heads, because on the other side of the equation, you’ve got the same AI helping all of us in the talent acquisition world understand, do people have the skills and competencies to be successful in a role?

It’s not that we think skill inference on a resume or LinkedIn will be useless or completely not helpful. Rather it is we believe there’s a much greater need than ever before for actual validated skills. That’s the future.”

He adds that this trend is “levelling the playing field” between HR and candidates.

And the onus on vendors to adapt is something HR Leaders should be looking for.

“AI has been around for some time, but Gen AI is making things a lot more accessible to people. We vendors are going to have to go a lot deeper than ever before to understand what’s a high quality candidate?

“There’s now this constant almost tug of war of signal versus noise when you think about talent acquisition because of this.”

2. AI should enhance, not replace, the human element of HR

This is something that Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer, Lighthouse Research & Advisory agrees on.

Speaking to UNLEASH he notes: “The last few years of generative AI advancement have brought new capabilities into the platforms employers use, but that advancement has also given power to the individuals doing the work.

“Increasingly, candidates are using AI tools to create applications that will show up in candidate searches, apply for jobs automatically, and give them answers to interview questions via intelligent teleprompters. This is a challenging area that employers are not ready to address. In an experiment with 1,013 talent acquisition leaders, our 2025 Talent Acquisition Trends Study found that just 14% of them could identify which applications were AI-generated!

These and other pressures are forcing employers to invest more deeply into AI. My perspective is that the investments can’t be purely made for productivity’s sake. That matters, but humans aren’t robots, and the endless pursuit of efficiency removes the humanity from our work.”

Instead, AI investments should help HR teams to get closer to their vision of an empowered, supportive culture.”

For many this is making sure that teams stick to that maxim that the ‘H’ in HR is ‘human’.

However, this is often easier said than done.

CHROs and CPOs have a seat at the top tables in global boardrooms on matters of strategic direction.

“The other piece of adapting to AI is making sure that the things you try are aligned to the outcomes that you’re trying to achieve. Because often there is pressure or perceived pressure from CEOs to adopt AI for the sake of it,” Friedman says.

“Chart out your future together with your technology partners in a responsible way, because being able to do things ethically and responsibly is going to be so, so critical, which is something I think some people undervalue in the rush of roadmap or KPI pressure.”

HireVue shared some examples of companies it believes has done particularly well in this respect, such as retail firm Walmart in North America, and Swiss manufacturing giant The Holcim Group in Europe.

“Both companies have seen a series of positive dynamics where they’re helping to automate, create faster, more efficient, fairer workflows that translate to the outcomes that are important to the wider business.”

3. The AI market is poised for explosive growth—HR leaders must prepare

AI adoption in HR is accelerating, mirroring a broader market trend.

Dr Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio is a behavioral and data scientist at Harvard University, who has been advising the EU and UN on AI and big data.

“The AI market is on track for robust growth, projected to approach a valuation nearing $300 billion by 2026,” notes Dr. Cecchi. “This underscores the increasing investment in AI-driven tools across industries, including HR.”

Josh Bersin, global industry analyst and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, emphasizes that AI is now “the defining business-enabling technology for 2025 and beyond,” fundamentally reshaping recruiting, talent management, and HR operations.

This year all HR leaders should be experimenting and rethinking every major program to leverage AI, and many of our distinct HR practices are likely to converge.” Bersin adds.

When it comes to adoption and procurement, Dr Cecchi-Dimeglio says: “HR leaders should prioritize investments in AI platforms that streamline hiring, talent management, and employee engagement processes.

“Equally important is addressing ethical concerns such as algorithmic bias and ensuring transparency in AI decision-making. Allocating resources for AI tools and employee training programs will be critical to maximizing value while maintaining employee trust and productivity.”

The takeaway? HR leaders must be proactive in selecting AI solutions that align with their business goals while addressing ethical concerns like algorithmic bias and transparency.

However, this shift presents a challenge: How do organizations ensure their AI-driven hiring tools are fair and unbiased?

“It’s not just about using AI—it’s about using AI responsibly with trusted partners,” Friedman emphasizes.

“HR leaders need to partner with vendors who are transparent about how their AI models work and can explain why decisions are made. Not all AI is created equal, and working with trusted providers is key.”

“We all want to grow our markets. We all want to grow the products that we offer, but I do think it’s important for people to specialize. And then understand who are the vendors that they can work with, and how do all the tools fit and work together?

Because there’s a lot of data that exists out there, the goal should be we’re all trying to help improve outcomes at the end of the day, and the only way to do that is to actually work well with the other companies that are in this space.”

“We need to understand how do we make sure that the data lives in the places where people need it, so they can make better, faster, fairer decisions in the applications where they need it to be at that moment? And so I think you’ll see more demands from HR Leaders to vendors along those lines in the future.”

When asked by UNLEASH, HireVue shared its list of HR Tech Strategic Partnerships here.

As HR leaders navigate 2025, one thing is clear: AI is not just an efficiency tool—it’s a strategic enabler.

“Ultimately, my advice is try,” Freidman says.

“Overall, I think the world is just a better place right now, from a technology perspective, and the ability for people to have access to what they need, you know, faster, to make the best decisions possible.

“We’re excited about that.”