Moncton-based VidCruiter, a global leader in using video in the hiring process, has launched a new artificial intelligence tool designed to score pre-recorded video interviews using client-approved rubrics.

The product, called AI Interview Scoring, is intended to help employers evaluate large numbers of candidates while reducing differences in how recruiters assess interview responses. The company said the system applies the same scoring criteria to every candidate answering a specific question and provides written explanations for each score.

"For too long, hiring teams have been forced to choose between speed and consistency, and the AI tools available to them have only deepened that problem by hiding their reasoning behind a black box," said CEO Sean Fahey in a statement announcing the launch.

"AI Interview Scoring is our answer. Every score is rubric-driven, every decision is explainable, and every evaluation is auditable end-to-end. If an AI can't show its work, it should not be making hiring decisions.”

The launch of AI Interview Scoring is the latest chapter in the decades-long story of VidCruiter, which has become one of the region’s venerable tech companies. Fahey started the company in 2009 and went through the first cohort of Propel’s Launch36 accelerator.

Though he limited his fundraising to angel investors, he grew the company to a global concern employing 140 people. It is used by more than 125,000 hiring professionals at about 660 enterprise customers, including such household names as Bell, the Canadian government and the Montreal Canadiens.  Most important, the company became profitable in its last fiscal year and will increase its profit this year.

“It's a profitable business now, which we're happy about and proud of,” said Fahey in an interview. “Last year was the first year we became profitable. There's a lot of growing and expanding for us to do in this market still today, so we plan to continue to do that.”

The company now boasts $15 million to $20 million in annual revenue, he said. Its sales were increasing about 50 percent annually during the pandemic, and Fahey said its annual growth rate is now “hovering in the teens”.

In its statement, VidCruiter said the technology is designed to address concerns about “black-box” AI systems in hiring by making the scoring process transparent and auditable. The company added that clients must approve the evaluation rubrics before interviews are assessed and can modify the criteria at any time.

Fahey said the system was developed to balance speed and consistency in recruitment while allowing hiring teams to review the reasoning behind each decision. He added that it offers flexibility so the AI system can interview and evaluate candidates, or humans can be involved in all phases of the process.

The company said the software evaluates only what candidates say during interviews and does not analyze biometric data such as facial features or speech patterns. VidCruiter said the exclusion of biometric analysis is intended to improve fairness and support compliance with emerging hiring regulations.

Chief AI officer Andrew Buzzell said in the statement the system was built to support validation testing and bias audits required by large employers and regulators.