Mya A.I. Has Eyes on ‘Fully Automated Recruitment’

“Your recruiting A.I.”

If you visit Mya’s website, it’s hard to ignore what’s obviously going to be an overused buzzword in just about every industry under the sun, if it already isn’t. “A.I.,” or artificial intelligence, promises to put the bots in control of everything from commerce to our personal lives.

In Mya’s case, however, it’s less Johnny Five and more chatbot. Basically, Mya is a software that lets recruiters “chat” with a prospect, while not physically being on the other end of the conversation.

“A recruiter will never again have to answer the same question twice,” FirstJob’s CEO and cofounder Eyal Grayevsky explains in a recent interview.

Facebook made a big splash recently by opening up its Messenger app to third parties. Users can opt in to receiving local weather alerts, for example. Alternatively, those traveling may ask “What’s the temperature in Cleveland?” and receive an answer in real time as if they were actually “chatting” with the service.

In Mya’s case, however, questions will revolve around employment. “When are you looking to fill this position?,” “Where do I go for my interview?,” and “What kind of benefits do you offer?” are examples of commonly asked questions a candidate might ask. Answers will be auto-populated, so employers don’t have to waste as much time revisiting past inquiries. If a questions comes up that’s not recognized, it goes to a human being to be answered and then stored in Mya’s knowledge base.

The company says Mya will automate up to 75 percent of the “qualifying and engagement process.” Grayevsky, however, goes further than that by saying, “Right now our goal was to create a fully-automated recruitment assistant. A recruiter must stay involved. Our long-term vision is to develop Mya into a fully automated recruiter.”

So, maybe one day robots will hire and fire other robots to work at totally virtual locations while us humans stay plugged into our virtual reality devices eating entire meals in pill form. Maybe that doesn’t sound so appealing, but the reality that bots are doing more and more manual tasks is impossible to ignore and will have serious impact on society.

Mya can pre-screen candidates, answer frequently asked questions (FAQs), update users on the application process and alert everyone when a job has been filled. Grayevsky says the process should help eliminate the black hole effect so many job seekers discover after applying to a job.

Mya integrates with most popular applicant tracking solutions. After an application is submitted, Mya introduces herself and begins a conversation with the candidate. The data and insights captured from that conversation are delivered to your ATS.

Popular chat options such as SMS, Facebook Messenger, Skype, email, and even Mya’s own proprietary tool are available. Customers select which one they prefer, or candidates can choose. The company says Mya is fully customizable.

Mya is a product of San Francisco-based FirstJob, a solution that promises to match recent college graduates with entry-level jobs and internship opportunities through their existing social networks. They raised $3 million in a November 2012 seed round and were created in 2011. Pricing for Mya is custom and based on the number of candidates your company processes each month.

About the Author

Joel Cheesman has over 20 years experience in the online recruitment space. He worked for both international and local job boards in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. In 2005, Cheesman founded HRSEO, a search engine marketing company for HR, as well as launching an award-winning industry blog called Cheezhead.

He has been featured in Fast Company and US News and World Report. He sold his company in 2009 to Jobing.com. He was employed by EmployeeScreenIQ, a background check company. He is the founder of Ratedly, an iOS app that monitors anonymous employee reviews. He is the father of two children and lives in Indianapolis. Yes, he’s on Twitter and LinkedIn.

By Joel Cheesman