Australian companies including Kmart, Woolworths, Bunnings and Qantas are using AI in recruitment, with Kmart’s process involving an AI bot interview that generated emailed “personality insights” for applicants. One insight said “service over self” seemed natural, while another warned the applicant to “be careful to not dominate group conversations,” feedback that appeared generic and potentially contradictory. Kmart declined to comment, but chief people and corporate affairs officer Tristram Gray previously said applicants rated the experience highly because it was “no longer impersonal.” First Nations people now account for 8.25 per cent of those hired at Kmart, compared with about 3.2 per cent of the population in the 2021 census. Sapia.ai founder and chief executive Barb Hyman said the software, established in 2018 in Melbourne and having assessed more than 10 million people, reduced unconscious bias and time and financial costs, and made recruitment more accessible by not timing interviews or using video. Hyman, who has raised more than $17 million for the company, said the AI likely made the process more comfortable for First Nations applicants, who “might just feel more comfortable with this way of hiring.” She said about 90 per cent of candidates recommended through the AI process were ultimately hired, and strong written responses correlated with higher verbal communication skills.