Kearney Embraces AI to Revolutionize Consulting Recruitment and Eliminate Bias
In a groundbreaking move that could redefine global hiring practices, Kearney, one of the world's premier consulting firms, is implementing artificial intelligence to systematically remove human bias from its recruitment process. This innovative initiative, initially piloted from the company's India office, represents a significant shift in how top-tier consulting organizations identify and select talent.
India-Led Pilot Program Analyzes Years of Applicant Data
Kearney India has undertaken a mammoth analytical project, examining thousands of resumes submitted to the firm over multiple years. According to Siddharth Jain, managing partner and country head at Kearney India, the company is mapping candidate profiles against their current performance levels, whether they joined the firm or pursued opportunities elsewhere.
"This comprehensive analysis helps us understand the accuracy of our historical selection and interview processes," Jain explained. "We're evaluating how effectively we identified suitable candidates in the past and learning from any oversights."
AI Tools Target Hiring Errors and Interviewer Biases
The consulting firm's primary objective is to eliminate what professionals call type-1 and type-2 hiring errors. A type-1 error occurs when recruiters overlook a qualified candidate who would have excelled in the role, while a type-2 error involves selecting an unsuitable candidate who doesn't fit the organizational requirements.
Kaushik DasGupta, managing partner-India for executive search firm ODGERS, noted that AI tools specifically address social, gender, and conceptual biases that human interviewers might unconsciously introduce. "Some major corporations are now implementing AI as the third or fourth interview round to verify that previous interviews remained bias-free," DasGupta observed.
These sophisticated AI systems also evaluate candidate response consistency and extend beyond traditional resume screening processes, providing a more holistic assessment of applicant suitability.
AI-Driven Interviews Enhance Initial Screening Accuracy
Taking bias elimination to the next level, Kearney India has begun using in-house AI tools to conduct initial interview rounds. Candidates upload their resumes and video messages, with AI handling the preliminary screening and evaluation.
"We've documented significantly higher accuracy in these AI-conducted screenings because they operate without human biases," Jain revealed. "This pilot program, launched in 2025, is currently being implemented across several campuses where we regularly recruit."
Consulting Industry Faces Intense Talent Competition
This technological shift in hiring practices arrives during a period of fierce talent competition within the consulting sector. Major players including Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, and Accenture have already recruited students from the 2026 batch at prestigious Indian Institutes of Management.
India's growing prominence in complex, AI-driven global projects has intensified this recruitment battle, with many international initiatives now being led by Indian teams. This competitive landscape has accelerated the adoption of innovative hiring methodologies across the industry.
Broader Industry Adoption of AI Recruitment Tools
While consulting giants experiment with AI-enhanced hiring, startups have already embraced these technologies more extensively. AI recruitment tools offer significant cost and time savings during resume screening processes.
Saumil Tripathi, co-founder of AI-led recruitment firm Grapevine, described how his company's voice-based AI tool, called Round 1, conducts 5-9 minute interviews for startups with limited recruitment resources. "We handle initial aptitude testing through AI, then provide detailed candidate information to clients for subsequent interviews," Tripathi explained. His three-year-old startup currently processes approximately 300 interviews daily using this technology.
AI Integration in Business School Recruitment
The influence of artificial intelligence extends to business school campus recruitment as well. Companies increasingly permit students to utilize AI tools during hiring processes, particularly for case study analyses that form crucial components of consulting recruitment.
Unlike engineering recruitment that focuses on coding exams or product development, management recruitment emphasizes business strategy formulation. Consulting firms now evaluate how candidates employ specific prompts and derive conclusions using AI assistance, testing their underlying thought processes rather than just final outputs.
This comprehensive shift toward AI-enhanced hiring represents a broader corporate effort to introduce consistency and objectivity into one of business's most subjective decisions—talent selection. As Kearney's India-led initiative demonstrates, the future of consulting recruitment increasingly relies on data-driven, bias-free assessment methodologies.
