A chatbot that engages candidates after they apply, asking a series of pre-screening questions about their eligibility, salary expectations, and key qualifications. It provides a pass/fail score to the recruiter, ensuring only qualified candidates move forward.
High-volume roles attract many applicants who do not meet basic requirements, such as work rights, licences, availability or location. Recruiters spend hours phoning or emailing applicants to ask the same eligibility questions, and candidates who do qualify wait for a response. Long application forms put good candidates off, but short forms leave recruiters with too little information.
A candidate pre-screening chatbot built on platforms such as Tidio or Landbot engages applicants shortly after they apply, asking a short set of questions about eligibility and must-have requirements. Answers are written to the ATS with a summary for the recruiter. Knockout questions must be genuinely job-related and applied consistently, and recruiters should review outcomes rather than rely blindly on automatic pass or fail results.
The recruiter defines a short set of genuinely required criteria for the role, such as Australian work rights, a driver licence, a trade licence, shift availability or location.
After applying, candidates receive an email or SMS with a link to the chatbot, which explains its purpose and how answers will be used.
The chatbot asks each question conversationally, clarifies unclear answers and lets candidates add context, such as a pending visa or licence.
Answers are scored against the criteria and written to the ATS as pass, review or does not meet, with the full conversation attached.
The recruiter reviews results, especially review and does not meet cases, before any candidate is rejected.
After a candidate applies on a company's website, they receive an automated email with a link to a quick chat. The AI chatbot asks knockout questions like 'Do you have the right to work in Australia?' and 'Do you hold a current forklift licence?', and passes a shortlist to a recruiter for review.
Chatbot platforms (Tidio, Landbot), NLP, ATS Integration
Screening for Australian work rights is appropriate, but check visas properly through VEVO rather than relying on self-reported answers. Questions must not discriminate on protected attributes under federal and state anti-discrimination laws, including age, disability, pregnancy, family responsibilities or race, and years of experience requirements can indirectly disadvantage some groups, so use them only when genuinely needed. Salary expectation questions are allowed but should not disadvantage candidates unfairly. Candidates should be told how their information is used under the Privacy Act 1988, and if answers automatically screen people out, the privacy policy will need to explain that automated decision-making from December 2026. Offer an alternative for candidates with disability who find chatbots difficult.
This solution requires careful evaluation of cost-benefit ratio. Consider implementation only after thorough analysis and risk assessment.
It can be set up to, but it is safer to have it sort candidates into pass, review and does not meet, with a recruiter making final decisions. Automatic rejection based on rigid answers increases discrimination risk and can lose good candidates. If you do automate rejections, limit them to clear legal requirements such as work rights.
Ask only what is genuinely needed for the role: work rights in Australia, required licences or certifications, availability for specific shifts, location or willingness to travel, and core must-have skills. Avoid questions about age, health, family plans or nationality. Keep the conversation short so candidates complete it.
Often within a week. Platforms like Tidio and Landbot offer templates, and integration with common ATS platforms is straightforward. The main work is agreeing screening criteria for each role type, writing clear questions, setting up the review process and testing the candidate experience on a phone.
Get expert guidance on implementing AI Candidate Pre-screening Chatbot for your business
Contact Our AI Experts