Resource guide · October 14, 2026
What evidence should you ask for before using an AI hiring tool?
Questions to ask a vendor and your own team before relying on automated hiring scores or recommendations.
← All resourcesStart with the decision, not the model
Ask where the tool enters the hiring process. Does it rank applicants, screen them out, suggest interview questions, or summarize information for a person to review? A study of one use may not answer questions about another.
- What exactly is being used? Ask for the tool version, settings, inputs, outputs, score thresholds, and the decisions influenced by each output. Identify who can override a result and how that is recorded.
- What is the job-related claim? What does the score claim to measure, and what evidence connects that measure to the work in these roles? Ask which jobs and candidate groups were included in any validation study. A general claim that a model is “accurate” is not enough to judge its use in your hiring process.
- What do group results show? Request selection rates or score distributions by relevant groups, the sample sizes and time period, and an explanation of missing demographic data. Ask whether the results reflect the version and decision threshold you actually use.
- How does the tool work for candidates with disabilities? Ask about accessibility, the process for requesting an accommodation or alternative assessment, and whether the tool could screen out someone who can do the job. The EEOC identifies these as concerns when software is used in selection. EEOC guidance ↗
- What can you check later? Ask which records can be retained and reviewed: tool version, scores, decisions, candidate notices, human overrides, and the data needed to investigate a concern, subject to applicable privacy rules.
- What changes require a fresh look? Agree on who will review a new model, new role, changed threshold, different candidate population, or unexpected pattern in outcomes.
Ask your own team, too
A vendor may know how a tool was built but not how your recruiters use it. Document the roles, locations, applicant flow, selection stages, and who makes the final decision. Compare the vendor’s evidence with that actual use. The EEOC notes that vendor documentation can be helpful, while employers remain responsible for assessing the validity of their selection procedures under the applicable guidelines. EEOC guidance on selection procedures ↗
If evidence is missing, write down the gap and what decision it prevents you from making. That may call for more data, a different use of the tool, or a scoped review. This checklist helps frame questions; it is not a finding that a particular tool is compliant or suitable.