More noise. More applications. More AI. Yet somehow, harder to hire than ever. In 2025, 75% of TA teams experimented with using AI in their talent strategy. In 2026, the conversation is louder (and more polarisingpolarizing) than ever.
The pressure on talent teams continues to build
Talent teams are no strangers to “doing more with less”. But in 2026, expectations have risen to a new level. Business leaders want faster hires, strategic workforce planning, stronger retention and measurable ROI. Cost pressures are squeezing budgets, and every hiring decision is being scrutinisedscrutinized for its impact on the bottom line. And running alongside it all, the incredible pace of technological advances – including AI – that is reshaping every industry, with recruitment no exception.
In 2025, we surveyed 270 talent professionals about their biggest priorities in 2026. High application volumes and declining quality topped the list – a direct consequence of AI generated applications making it harder to identify genuine stand-out candidates. Skills gaps are widening, and while teams are investing heavily in speed and efficiency, candidate experience is at risk of being left behind.
Want to go deeper?
Download our 2026 Talent Acquisition Priorities Report for the full data and insights shaping the year to come.
Trust remains the biggest barrier
Only 26% of candidates trust AI to evaluate them fairly. That means three in four people going through your hiring process may already be sceptical before they’ve spoken to a single person on your team. That scepticism goes beyond candidate perception. It’s a major conversion issue.
The organisationsorganizations turning this to their advantage are the ones leaning into transparency in the hiring process. Be clear about where AI is used and how decisions are made and, and what candidates can expect at each stage, is a competitive differentiator. When a candidate is choosing between two opportunities, a personalisedpersonalized, genuine conversation at the right time can be the difference between an offer accepted and an offer declined.
But used well, it changes the game
When used with intention, AI is genuinely transformative. Used well, AI is a support layer – there to handle the repeatable, time-consuming work that pulls recruiters away from the deeper, more meaningful candidate conversations. Writing job ad drafts. Automating candidate outreach. Skills matching algorithms. Workforce planning. Ensuring top talent doesn’t click away at 11PM because they had one simple question go unanswered.
When embedded thoughtfully across a connected, end-to-end hiring ecosystem, AI takes the administrative weight off recruiters and gives them back the time to do the work only humans can do. It’s incredibly powerful – as an enabler, not a replacement.
Is AI the secret hiring weapon of 2026?
Partly. But only as part of something bigger. You need a multi-pronged strategy that puts candidates at the centre, while technology supports better execution. Based on what 270 talent professionals told us, the most effective strategies combines the right technology with smarter ways of attracting, engaging and converting talent. Here’s what we know works:
- Authenticity over polish. Real employee stories and a genuine, grounded EVP convert better than anything a brand team produces
- Experience over speed. Even if your process is super-fast, robotic recruitment loses candidates
- Insight over activity. Quality of hire by channel, drop off rates and candidate experience metrics matter more than time to fill.
- Pipeline over post-and-pray. OrganisationsOrganizations that build pipelines before roles open hire faster and cheaper than those still relying on job boards.
- Augmentation over automation. AI that supports recruiter judgment outperforms AI that tries to replace it
AI won’t fix it alone (but the right platform does the heavy lifting)
Every priority on this list comes back to the same thing: giving recruiters the time, tools, and insights to do their best work.
You’re being asked to “do more with less”. Luckily, PageUp is built to be the “more”. A connected platform that brings together your career site, talent pipelines, candidate marketing automation, analytics and ATS integration – so your hiring engine keeps working even when your team is not. Plus, we’ve built a purposeful AI solution, that augments your recruiters, instead of trying to replace them. All that, wrapped up with a local, dedicated support team that’s with you every step of the way. Less noise, more hiring. That’s what PageUp is built for.
Ready to see what it’s all about?
Get in touch with our team today to see PageUp in action.
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