Du partners with Sapia.ai on AI recruitment interviews

du has partnered with Sapia.ai to introduce AI chat interviews into its recruitment process. The system has already been used in 8,000 candidate interviews across corporate and frontline roles.

The UAE telecommunications company is bringing AI into its hiring operations as it looks to manage larger candidate pools more consistently. The process uses structured, chat-based interviews. Candidates receive automated insights after completing the assessment, while recruiters get interview data to support screening and selection.

Early results shared by du point to high candidate engagement. Of those who started the interview, 87% completed it, and candidates rated the experience 9.1 out of 10.

du said 95% of candidates found the automated feedback useful after their interview. It also reported that 85% were likely to recommend du as a place to work based on the interview experience, while 87% were likely to recommend the company's products and services.

Hiring process

The rollout covers both corporate and frontline recruitment, where employers often need to process high volumes of applications. The chat interview format is designed to reduce manual CV screening at an early stage and give hiring teams a standardised first assessment of candidates.

Sapia.ai describes its platform as a replacement for early-stage CV screening, using structured interviews scored against behavioural science measures. More than 10 million candidates have completed its interviews since 2018, according to the company.

Its customer base includes Costa Coffee, Holland & Barrett, Qantas, and Target Australia, reflecting wider demand for automated recruitment tools among large employers managing hiring at scale.

The deal also reflects a broader push by companies in the Gulf to apply AI to internal processes as well as customer-facing services. In du's case, the move is linked to its wider use of digital systems and AI across the business.

Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Executive Officer of du, said: "AI is changing how organizations operate, and for us that has to begin from within. The recruitment process is an important part of that journey because it is a person's first meaningful interaction with du as a potential employer. Our partnership with Sapia.ai allows us to use AI to make that experience more consistent, efficient and insightful for candidates and our hiring teams. The early response is very encouraging for us, considering the feedback we have received from the candidates."

Candidate data

The use of AI in recruitment has drawn attention from employers, regulators, and candidates because of the need to show consistency and avoid bias in decision-making. Suppliers in the sector have increasingly focused on explainability, structured assessment, and auditability as employers look for tools that can support hiring teams without removing human oversight.

Sapia.ai said its role is to support, rather than replace, recruiter judgment. It positioned the technology as a way to improve the consistency of early-stage assessments while leaving final decisions to hiring managers.

Barb Hyman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Sapia.ai, said: "du is demonstrating what thoughtful AI adoption in recruitment can look like at scale. Our objective is not to take people out of hiring decisions, but to use technology to create a more consistent experience for every candidate and give recruiters better information to base their decisions. The engagement we have seen from du candidates shows the potential for AI-powered recruitment to improve hiring efficiency and the experience people have with an employer."

The figures released by du suggest it is also measuring recruitment as a brand touchpoint, not just an operational task. Candidates' willingness to recommend both the employer and its products indicates the company is treating hiring interactions as part of its broader public reputation.

For Sapia.ai, the du partnership adds another telecommunications client to a roster concentrated in retail, travel, and consumer-facing sectors. For du, it marks a concrete use of AI in a people function that has often been slower than customer operations to adopt automation at scale.

The companies said the system gives recruiters and hiring managers data-driven candidate insights, reducing manual screening and allowing them to focus more on later-stage hiring decisions.