The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is encouraging federal agencies to use artificial intelligence throughout the hiring process, from drafting job announcements to screening applications and evaluating candidates.
In a memorandum issued August 27, OPM said agencies should adopt AI where it can improve hiring efficiency and help meet federal goals for reducing the average time to hire to 80 days. The guidance also sets out when AI-assisted hiring may be considered “high-impact” under existing federal AI policy.
Human Review Has to Do More Than Approve AI
The guidance creates an important distinction between using AI to support a hiring decision and allowing its output to become the basis for that decision.
OPM says AI-assisted hiring generally does not qualify as high-impact when an authorized official independently reviews the underlying evidence, evaluates the reasoning and makes the final determination based on that record.
A formal human sign-off alone does not provide that protection. OPM specifically says that if officials simply ratify an AI recommendation without independently examining the underlying information, the AI output can still be considered the principal basis for the decision and the use should be treated as high-impact.
Screening and Candidate Ranking Face More Scrutiny
AI can generally be used for tasks such as drafting position descriptions, job announcements and interview questions when officials independently review and adopt the material before it is used.
The guidance also allows AI to support résumé screening, qualification reviews and candidate summaries when officials examine the underlying application materials and make their own determinations.
AI-generated recommendations about which applicants fail to meet minimum qualifications, candidate matching and scoring or ranking systems receive greater scrutiny because they can directly affect access to federal employment. OPM considers these uses presumed high-impact, although agencies can determine that a particular use does not meet the high-impact definition if they document the basis for doing so.
Agencies Still Have to Protect Applicants
Even when an AI use is determined to be non-high-impact, other hiring requirements remain in place.
Agencies must ensure AI-assisted processes correctly apply veterans’ preference, meet accessibility and reasonable-accommodation requirements, use authorized systems with appropriate privacy protections and maintain records that can be audited.
Applicants must also retain access to existing avenues for challenging adverse eligibility decisions.
OPM said it will continue adding AI capabilities to federal hiring tools including USA Staffing, USAJOBS, USA Hire, USA Class and USA Performance.
The guidance makes clear that federal agencies are being encouraged to adopt AI, but the responsibility for hiring decisions remains with agency officials who must be able to explain and support the decisions they make.
