Ashwarya Poddar, Founder & CEO at ConverzAI talks about the daily best practices that modern hiring teams should keep in mind as they navigate an AI first HRTech environment in this HRTech Q&A:

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Hi Ash, tell us about yourself and the story behind ConverzAI

I’m Ashwarya Poddar, the Founder and CEO of ConverzAI. Before starting ConverzAI, I spent over a decade at Microsoft, where I grew from a Software Developer to leading a $100M+ new business lines as a Principal Product Manager.

My work focused on conversational intelligence, building solutions that transformed how sales teams and customer service teams operated. I’ve always been passionate about creating technologies that enhance human productivity.

ConverzAI was born out of a “lightbulb moment” I had during a rainy day at Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters back in November 2019. While working on a voice-analysis product for sales coaching, I realized the true potential wasn’t just analyzing conversations after the fact but empowering technology to lead entire conversations in real time. That idea—that machines could conduct high-value business conversations—sparked a mission to build a transformational solution.

We chose recruitment as our focus because of its immense potential to create meaningful impact. A skilled recruiter changes lives when they connect someone to the right job. Our goal at ConverzAI is to accelerate the recruitment process and enable staffing conversations at scale while delivering exceptional candidate experiences. We’ve built AI-powered Virtual Recruiters that revolutionize staffing, automating workflows, engaging millions of candidates, and streamlining job placements.

To date, our Virtual Recruiters have processed hundreds of thousands of jobs, facilitated the placement of tens of thousands of candidates, and consistently delivered a candidate satisfaction score of over 80%. We’re just getting started!

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With AI powered recruitment picking up pace, how are you seeing recruitment processes evolve in today’s hiring market?

AI is reshaping recruitment by making it faster, smarter, and more candidate-centric. Tasks like screening, scheduling, and follow-ups are automated, allowing recruiters to focus on what they do best—building relationships. This shift has redefined their role from task managers to candidate experience leaders. Companies now engage candidates quicker, match them to roles more effectively, and create a personalized hiring experience at scale.

What should modern recruiters do to stay abreast of changing HRtech and AI powered HRtech tools and trends? 

Modern recruiters need to be curious, adaptable, and mission-driven. Investing time to understand the latest technologies is a must. Tools evolve rapidly, but the overarching goal remains the same—helping candidates find the right job and employers find the right talent. Staying focused on outcomes is critical.

How can HR leaders create more seamless recruitment experiences with new age HRtech?

It starts with automation. Repetitive tasks—like candidate screening, scheduling, and logistics—should be fully automated by AI agents so recruiting teams can focus on high-value interactions. Next comes optimization. Leaders must evaluate which processes can be improved by analyzing insights from AI tools to identify gaps and make better decisions. Automation and optimization go hand in hand, delivering improved performance, while leaders must prioritize proven, secure, and scalable solutions.

In what ways do you feel HRtech as a landscape will evolve in 2025?

By 2025, we’ll see AI take center stage in recruitment. AI agents will be end-to-end operators—managing entire recruitment workflows instead of tools designed for task-by-task automation. The focus will shift from isolated tools for discrete functions to AI-driven processes that address the recruitment lifecycle holistically. This evolution means businesses will achieve faster hiring cycles, more precise matches, and a dramatically improved candidate experience.

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