AI in Hiring: Where Founders Should Lean In (and Where to Slow Down)

Your team just discovered an AI tool that claims it can “predict job performance from a 10-minute video interview.” Another promises to “eliminate bias” by screening candidates without human involvement. A third offers to auto-generate employment contracts for any country.

The pitch is compelling: let AI handle hiring decisions so you can focus on growth.

But here’s what the demos don’t show: the top candidate rejected because the algorithm can’t read non-Western communication styles. The labor claim triggered by an auto-generated contract that violates local law. The employer brand damage when candidates feel processed by machines instead of people.

AI in hiring isn’t about “automate everything” or “avoid it entirely.” The real question is: where does AI add genuine value, and where does it introduce risk you can’t afford?

Where AI Creates Real Value in Hiring

AI works best as a support tool, not a replacement for human judgment. Here’s where it genuinely helps:

1. Augmenting Job Description Writing

AI can help draft initial job descriptions, suggest inclusive language, and optimize for search. But the final version should reflect your company’s voice and the specific realities of your target market.

What works: Using AI to generate a first draft, then having someone with local market knowledge refine it.

What doesn’t: Publishing generic, AI-generated JDs that don’t account for Southeast Asian talent expectations or market norms.

2. Assisting with Initial Research and Data Gathering

AI can quickly pull salary benchmarks, compile candidate information from public sources, or summarize industry trends.

What works: Using AI to gather background information that informs human decisions.

What doesn’t: Relying on AI-generated market data without validating it against local expertise, especially in fast-changing Southeast Asian markets.

3. Transcription and Documentation

AI can transcribe interviews, take notes, and organize information so your team can focus on the conversation itself.

What works: Using AI to capture what was said so hiring managers can be fully present during interviews.

What doesn’t: Using AI transcription as a substitute for actually conducting thorough interviews.

The 3 Places You Should Never Fully Automate

These are high-stakes areas where AI introduces serious legal, cultural, and strategic risk.

1. Candidate Assessment and Selection Decisions

Why full automation fails:

AI assessment tools claim to predict job performance by analyzing video interviews, personality tests, or work samples. The problem? These tools are often trained on datasets that don’t reflect Southeast Asian talent pools, work styles, or cultural communication norms.

The risks:

• Algorithmic bias: AI may penalize candidates with indirect communication styles common in Southeast Asia, screening out strong local talent
• Legal exposure: In markets with strict anti-discrimination laws like Indonesia and the Philippines, biased algorithms can trigger labor claims or regulatory penalties
• Loss of critical context: AI can’t assess cultural fit, team dynamics, adaptability, or the intangible qualities that determine long-term success

Example: An AI tool trained on Western interview datasets might flag a strong Filipino candidate as “lacking confidence” because they use relationship-building language instead of direct self-promotion. You’ve just screened out exactly the kind of culturally aware talent you need.

What to do instead: Use human judgment for all assessment decisions. If you need help with candidate evaluation, work with recruitment partners who have local expertise, not algorithms trained on foreign datasets.

2. Employment Contract Generation and Offer Structuring

Why full automation fails:

This is where founders get into serious trouble. AI tools offer to auto-generate employment contracts or structure compensation packages, but they can’t navigate the complex, country-specific regulations in Southeast Asia.

The risks:

• Compliance violations: Statutory benefits, probation periods, termination protections, and leave policies vary dramatically across the region. An AI tool trained on US or European employment law will miss critical local requirements
• Financial exposure: Get the contract wrong and you’re liable for back pay, penalties, and legal fees. In Indonesia or Vietnam, these can exceed $50,000 for a single employee
• Unenforceable terms: AI-generated contracts often include clauses that are simply illegal in certain markets, leaving you without protection if disputes arise

Example: An AI tool generates a contract with an “at-will employment” clause because that’s standard in the US. In Indonesia, that clause is unenforceable, and you still owe severance even if the contract says otherwise.

What to do instead: Have experienced legal and HR professionals structure every employment contract. In Southeast Asia, this isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a legal necessity.

3. Offer Negotiation and Candidate Communication

Why full automation fails:

Hiring top talent is deeply personal. Negotiations involve emotions, competing offers, family considerations, and career aspirations that no algorithm can navigate.

The risks:

• Lost talent: Top candidates expect human interaction during offer stages. Automated responses to counteroffers or questions signal that you don’t value them
• Brand damage: Candidates talk. A robotic, impersonal hiring experience will cost you future talent and damage your reputation in tight-knit regional talent markets
• Missed signals: AI can’t pick up on hesitation, unstated concerns, or the nuanced factors that determine whether a candidate actually accepts and stays

What to do instead: Keep humans involved in every candidate conversation, especially at the offer stage. This is where relationships are built and trust is established.

The Southeast Asia Factor

AI tools built for Western markets consistently miss critical regional nuances:

1. Education and credentials: AI resume screeners trained on US or European universities undervalue candidates from top institutions in Indonesia, Vietnam, or the Philippines. You’re filtering out strong local talent before you even see them.
2. Communication styles: Western AI assessment tools penalize indirect, relationship-focused communication that’s standard in many Southeast Asian cultures. This isn’t a “lack of confidence.” It’s cultural fluency.
3. Regulatory complexity: Labor laws across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam are employee-friendly, specific, and strictly enforced. AI-generated contracts or benefits packages created without local legal review expose you to significant compliance risk.
4. Talent market expectations: Candidates in Southeast Asia expect more human interaction during hiring than in some Western markets. Over-automation damages your employer brand before you’ve made your first hire.

A Practical Framework: The AI Hiring Checklist

Use AI when:

✅ It’s supporting human decisions, not replacing them

✅ The output will be reviewed by someone with local expertise

✅ The task is low-stakes (research, drafting, documentation)

✅ There’s no direct impact on candidate experience or legal compliance

Never fully automate:

❌ Candidate assessment or selection decisions

❌ Employment contract generation or offer structuring

❌ Offer negotiation or sensitive candidate communications

❌ Anything where getting it wrong creates legal or brand risk

Ask before implementing any AI tool:

1. What data was this trained on? Does it reflect Southeast Asian talent pools and work cultures?
2. Can humans easily review and override every decision?
3. What happens if it makes a mistake? Who’s liable?
4. How will candidates experience this? Does it feel human or robotic?
5. Does this tool understand local labor laws, or is it built for Western markets?

How Glints TalentHub Brings Local Expertise to Every Hire

At Glints TalentHub, we know that hiring in Southeast Asia requires more than tools. It requires people who understand the nuances of each market.

What sets us apart:

• Boots on the ground: We operate through our own legal entities in every Southeast Asian market, with local HR and legal teams who live and work in the countries where you’re hiring
• Decades of regional expertise: Our team has deep experience navigating Indonesia’s labor tribunals, the Philippines’ 13th month pay requirements, Vietnam’s evolving employment laws, and everything in between
• Human judgment where it matters: We handle the high-stakes decisions (candidate evaluation, employment structuring, offer negotiation, and ongoing compliance) with experienced professionals who understand local markets

We handle recruitment operations efficiently so you can focus on growth, but we never replace human judgment with algorithms when it comes to assessing talent or ensuring compliance.

Whether you’re hiring your first person in Jakarta or scaling across the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia, we give you the speed to move fast with the local expertise to do it right.

👉 Related: EOR vs Entity Setup: Cost, Risk, and Speed Trade-Offs for Global Expansion

Final Thoughts

AI in hiring will keep getting better. But the companies that win won’t be the ones that automate everything first. They’ll be the ones that know where AI adds value and where it creates risk.

In Southeast Asia, where talent is abundant but regulations are complex and cultural nuances matter, that judgment is critical.

Use AI as a support tool. Keep humans in the decisions. And partner with experts who understand both.

Ready to hire smarter across Southeast Asia? Glints TalentHub combines efficient recruitment operations with deep local expertise in compliance, cultural fit, and market knowledge.

This article is brought to you by Glints TalentHub. Leading companies are actively building their borderless teams in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and beyond. However, the prospect of going borderless can be daunting due to complex regulations and cultural ambiguities. With Glints TalentHub, you’ll have a dedicated team of in-market legal, HR, and talent experts by your side at every step of the way.

Glints TalentHub offers an end-to-end, tech-enabled talent solution that encompasses talent acquisition, EOR, and talent development. We empower businesses to leverage the strengths of regional talent efficiently to build high-performing, cost-efficient teams.

Schedule a no-obligation consultation with our experts to receive a tailored proposal today!