Firms trying to tackle a sharp rise in AI-assisted job applications are being offered a solution – powered by AI.
Scottish recruitment technology company Willo has launched a tool designed to help employers identify the most suitable candidates earlier in the hiring process.
Glasgow-based Willo’s 2026 hiring report found that almost 8-in-10 employers (77%) are now encountering AI-generated or assisted applications.
Its Willo Insights system differs from processes which typically rely on CV keyword matching or generic scoring models, and towards a more contextual method of evaluating candidates.
The company has spent 18 months developing the solution as it focuses on into what it describes as “hiring intelligence”.
Willo has worked with more than 5,000 employers globally including EasyJet, HelloFresh, EDF Energy, Bolt, and Toyota.
Industry observers say the rapid adoption of generative AI in recruitment is forcing companies to rethink how they assess candidates, particularly in early-stage screening.
Tech and hiring expert Kree Govander, SMB leader at Microsoft Canada, said: “AI has fundamentally changed the economics of applying for a job. What used to take a candidate hours now takes minutes, and that’s reshaping what lands in every recruiter’s inbox. There are more applications, more polish, and far less to separate one from the next.
“For employers, the bottleneck has shifted. It’s no longer about processing volume; it’s about reading signal through the noise. The companies that get this right will be the ones using technology that genuinely understands the role, what success looks like, what the team needs, what the business is trying to build rather than tools that simply rank words on a page.”
Willo chief executive Euan Cameron, who co-founded the business in 2020 with chief product officer Hamish Livingston, said the company had deliberately avoided rushing an AI scoring product to market.
“Employers are dealing with far more applications than they were even a year ago, and many now contain AI-generated content. That makes it harder to distinguish between candidates in a meaningful way,” he said.
“We took the view that hiring is too subjective and too high stakes to automate crudely. The focus instead was on building something that understands what success looks like in a specific role, and uses that as the basis for assessment.
Early testing of the platform has included organisations hiring at both specialist and high-volume levels. In one retrospective analysis, UK energy network operator Northern Powergrid found that six of the eight candidates it progressed to interview as part of a months-long process had been ranked within the top six recommendations generated by Insights.
Paul Hamlin, head of talent acquisition at Northern Powergrid, said the technology addressed several structural challenges facing large employers.
He added: “Across the energy sector, we’re hiring at significant scale into highly technical roles, and that brings real challenges. There’s a shortage of skills in the market, an ageing workforce, and far higher volumes of applications to manage. That creates a constant tension between moving quickly and making the right decisions, while still ensuring consistency and fairness.
“What hiring teams are looking for from technology now isn’t automation for its own sake, but better evidence. We want tools that reduce the administrative burden, support decision-making, and bring more consistency into how candidates are assessed – particularly when multiple assessors are involved.”
Willo doubled its annual recurring revenue (ARR) last year, and has expanded its team and operations as it seeks to position itself within a more data-driven approach to recruitment. Mimecast Founder Peter Bauer has already invested more than $6m in the platform.
The company will invest significantly in its North American operation – currently responsible for more than 60% of Willo’s revenue – with plans for an expanded team and US headquarters expedited later this year.
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