HR Tech Week in Review, 8 December 2025

The 'Hiring Glitch': AI-vs-AI spam wars and automated rejection trigger sentiment shift

A growing feedback loop of candidates using AI to apply and ATS tools using AI to filter is breaking funnel metrics, with evidence showing AI outreach now performs significantly worse than human messages.

r/recruitinghell → SHRM Technology → r/recruiting → SHRM Technology → r/recruiting →

Vendors pivot from 'enablement' to 'replacement' with AI Employees and Simulations

New product launches like HeroFlow's 'AI Employee' and Cangrade's 'Jules' signal a move toward autonomous agents and simulation-based hiring, aligning with CEO intentions to use AI for headcount reduction.

HRTech Series → HR Dive → HRTech Series →

BambooHR leverages Xero for ANZ/UK expansion; Strada aligns with Workday

Mid-market platforms are bypassing the heavy lift of building native global payroll rails by deepening integrations with established regional players to capture market share quickly.

HR Brew → HRTech Series →

Paycom and ADP unseat Salesforce and Workday in vendor compensation rankings

A notable downgrade for traditional enterprise cloud giants suggests a shift in perceived value or user satisfaction toward specialized payroll-centric platforms.

HR Executive →

European AI adoption outpaces regulatory compliance capabilities

A critical bottleneck is forming for US-based vendors selling into the EU, where rapid tool deployment is creating legal liability faster than HR or legal teams can mitigate.

HR Executive →