Auto-replying to applicants in 90 seconds
Speed wins hourly hiring. The applicant who hears back in 90 seconds shows up; the one who waits two days has already taken a job somewhere else. This playbook sets up SMS-based auto-replies with AI-driven knockout questions so every applicant gets an instant, qualifying response.
Define your knockout questions
Pick 3-5 deal-breakers per role - availability, transportation, certifications, age requirements. Keep it short; every extra question costs completions.
Connect your applicant source to SMS
Link your job posting platform (Indeed, ZipRecruiter, your career page) to an SMS tool via Zapier or a native integration so new applicants trigger an instant text.
Set the AI's qualifying script
The AI asks knockout questions conversationally, routes qualified candidates to a scheduling link, and flags unqualified ones for manual review instead of silently dropping them.
Worth knowing
Keep a human-review step for borderline answers. The AI should qualify fast, not reject quietly - a few false negatives a week can cost you good hires.