Making AI Work in Talent Acquisition: What the Latest Fosway Analysis Reveals

HR teams everywhere are grappling with the same challenge: how do you actually implement AI and automation in talent acquisition without overwhelming your team or blowing your budget? The promises are everywhere, but the practical roadmap feels elusive.

The 2025 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition offers answers.

After months of evaluating what's actually working in the market, their findings highlight which approaches are solving these exact problems and delivering measurable results.

The analysis also identified an unprecedented first: Phenom was not only named a Strategic Leader for the 5th consecutive year — we were named the FIRST Strategic Leader across all previous TA 9-Grids to achieve an 'Excelling' trajectory for two years in a row.

While we’re proud of the recognition, our placement isn’t what matters most. Rather, this momentum reveals important insights about the practical use of AI and automation, and how organizations can successfully implement them with sustainable success.

Check out the full report

What This Recognition Really Means

Dr. Sven Elbert, Lead Analyst for Talent Acquisition at Fosway Group, explained the significance this way:
“With a focus on innovation and potential to serve enterprise customers effectively, Phenom continues to accelerate its performance and potential compared to both itself previously, as well as the wider market as a whole.”

Put simply, Phenom is not just a safe bet for companies that need to efficiently attract, identify, engage, and hire the right talent. Our intelligent talent experience platform has made us an innovation leader that is outpacing the entire market based on its Potential, Performance, Presence, Total cost of ownership, and Trajectory.

The assessment isn't just about technology. It also reflects what customers are achieving and how they're addressing the real challenges identified in Fosway's 2025 market analysis.

The Market Reality: What's Actually Challenging Teams

The 2025 Fosway report highlights several critical trends affecting talent acquisition:

Market pressures are intensifying. Europe sees fewer hires and tighter budgets, especially in fintech and logistics. AI-driven applications are flooding pipelines, making quality harder to spot.
Legacy systems are struggling. Platforms built for basic automation struggle with flexibility, while AI tools often require complete overhauls that teams can't manage.
The TA role is evolving rapidly. Teams are moving from sourcing to strategy, driving skills-based hiring and building internal talent pools. They need AI that streamlines intake with skills and market data, while voice agents support frontline prequalification.
Experience expectations are rising. Companies need to personalize every touchpoint with AI-driven interactions, boost engagement through omnichannel outreach, and drive conversions even with limited budgets.

How Organizations Are Responding

What we find most encouraging is seeing how organizations are navigating these challenges.
A few highlights?

24% faster hiring with $1M ROI and 150,000+ automations globally
Time to hire reduced to 14 days with 5x more quality job seekers
Nearly zero-cost sourcing model achieved in nine months using AI
600+ recruiter hours saved through automation in one quarter

While these efficiency gains are important, they also represent fundamental shifts in how talent teams operate.

The Technology That's Making the Difference

What's enabling these results is Phenom’s integrated approach that addresses talent acquisition needs within the context of each organization's broader goals. Our "Levels of automation and intelligence" framework provides guided pathways for AI adoption, allowing teams to start where they're comfortable and gradually advance.

This shows up in several key areas:

Comprehensive talent relationship management with intelligent candidate recommendations, fit scoring, automated workflows, and personalized engagement campaigns—all seamlessly integrated with our award-winning Talent CRM and talent marketing capabilities.
Advanced sourcing and outreach using X+ Source to identify and engage quality candidates at scale, helping teams move beyond the spray-and-pray approach.
AI-powered screening and interview tools that improve decision-making, reduce bias, and provide real-time insights without requiring teams to learn entirely new systems.
Intelligent workflow automation for scheduling and candidate engagement that eliminates manual tasks while maintaining the human touch.
Flexible hiring support for everything from contingent workers and event-based recruitment to executive search scenarios.

Why This Approach Works

The reason we're seeing sustained success, and why analysts are recognizing this momentum, comes down to meeting organizations where they actually are. Instead of demanding complete technology overhauls, we provide clear progression paths that build confidence and connective capabilities over time.

This philosophy extends throughout the platform, ensuring every feature works together seamlessly to streamline workflows throughout the entire talent lifecycle. The ultimate end goal enables companies to hire faster, develop better, and retain longer without point solutions and disconnected data.

This approach eliminates the traditional gap between talent acquisition and talent management teams, ensuring they speak the same language and work toward shared objectives.

Looking Forward

Being recognized as the only Strategic Leader to achieve this level of momentum two years in a row — especially in a year that spotlights AI's role in talent acquisition — reflects how meaningful Phenom’s platform advancements have been.

For TA teams, it means they can rely on technology that not only meets today's hiring demands but also adapts to what's next with tools that reduce manual work, improve decision-making, and create better experiences across the board.

The future belongs to organizations that embrace AI and automation while securing genuine buy-in from their teams. This Fosway recognition validates that focusing on practical implementation, guided adoption pathways, and measurable customer outcomes creates lasting value — not just for vendors, but for the talent teams doing the critical work of building great organizations.

Read the report and want to talk next steps to hire faster and better? Request a demo and we'll figure it out together.

Joanna Keel