AI at Work Part II: What We’re Seeing in the Market Right Now
How is AI impacting your executive recruiting business?
We are often asked this question by clients, candidates and business roundtables.
AI is changing executive recruiting by helping firms identify, analyze and engage talent faster. But it has not replaced human judgment in leadership hiring. In 2026, we are seeing three clear trends: clients still value human discernment, AI is improving speed-to-talent more than speed-to-placement, and organizations increasingly want leaders who are fluent in AI and capable of keeping pace with change.
Earlier this year, I shared what I learned from HR leaders and how our middle market clients are shifting from “experimental to operational” beyond the AI headlines.
As we reach the halfway point of 2026, here are three trends we are experiencing in our work, with our clients and across the broader executive recruiting industry.
1. Human Judgment Still Matters in Executive Hiring
As we continue to operationalize AI in our work, it has not replaced human judgment.
Recently, I wrote about the importance of trusting your gut in executive hiring based on experience and well-honed intuition in the age of AI. Many clients and executives agree.
According to the Association of Executive Search Consultants, which recently surveyed more than 1,000 global executives and published its benchmark report, The Human Era in Executive Search, organizations continue to invest heavily in AI across their operations but draw firm boundaries when it comes to leadership hiring.
The report states, “Clients are open to AI when it improves efficiency and supports human work. Nearly 50% accept its use for summaries and screenings, while fewer 27% are comfortable with AI-led evaluation. The most valuable aspects in executive search continue to be human. Candidate discernment, culture fit, judgment, context, trust and relationship management.”
For now, human judgment remains a key ingredient. We believe it is critically important.
AI can support the search process. It can help organize information, identify patterns and accelerate research. But leadership hiring is still about understanding people, context, culture and risk. That requires experience, relationships and judgment.
2. AI Is Accelerating Speed-to-Talent, Not Speed-to-Placement
AI continues to accelerate speed-to-talent, but not necessarily speed-to-placement.
In 2025, our average days to placement was 59 business days. In 2026 year-to-date, it is 72 business days. While our sample size is limited strictly to our firm and the last six months, speed-to-talent and speed-to-placement appear to be moving in opposite directions.
This raises important questions.
Are clients slowing down the interview and decision-making process? Is top talent becoming harder to recruit? Are clients more cautious than ever about making a mistake?
These are a few of the “closed door” questions we have been discussing as a firm. While the answer may not always be clear and differs by client, one thing is certain: the pressure to get it right is real. Our clients are navigating internal pressures, external pressures and shifting market conditions.
As executive recruiters, AI has helped us engage the talent market quicker. But executive recruiting is not a transactional business. It is a high-stakes process that requires an extensive and exhaustive search executed over the course of several months to help all parties make the right decision.
Let’s also not forget that it takes time to build relationships and trust between candidates and clients. And if there is one thing I have learned in business and life, it is this: hurry hurts relationships.
3. Clients Want Leaders With AI Fluency and Change Readiness
Clients want leaders with the skills, mindset and readiness to keep pace with change.
The AESC global survey report states, “The leadership challenge is meeting new capability demands. The challenge is finding leaders with capabilities required for a different operating environment. This gap points to a mismatch between existing leadership benches and the future organizations are trying to build.”
This is one of the key trends we are experiencing with our clients and one reason they choose to engage our firm to recruit external leaders.
As one HR executive for a PE-backed organization recently shared with me, “Leaders unable to keep up with AI adoption will not be able to meet organizational needs. Leaders must embrace AI and think first about how to use AI tools to accomplish things better, faster and quicker. AI fluency has become a big focus in HR conversations when looking for leadership roles.”
So what can leaders do to improve their AI capabilities, readiness and skills?
For starters, you cannot avoid, ignore or defer it. You need to jump into the action and use AI daily as an extension of your work. Use it to complete repetitive tasks, reduce low-value work and challenge old ways of doing business that may be holding you back.
In our firm, we have invested in AI technologies and integrate them daily in our recruiting workflows, candidate analysis and executive summaries while still overlaying strong human judgment.
Secondly, we have been very intentional about learning and development in 2026. Each team member is required to participate in one new learning and development activity each month. This creates and inspires a culture of innovation, curiosity and continuous improvement.
Finally, we began facilitating client coffee talks and lunch and learns. We bring clients into our office, share best practices and help one another along this journey.
Leaders who invest in their professional development and shift their mindset to embrace AI will be best positioned to meet the evolving demands of today and tomorrow. They will also be most attractive to organizations making key leadership hiring decisions.
Final Thoughts
AI is changing how executive recruiting gets done, but it is not changing what matters most in leadership hiring.
The best outcomes still depend on judgment, trust, context and relationships. AI can help us move faster and work smarter, but leadership decisions require more than speed. They require confidence, discernment and alignment.
For organizations, the challenge is not simply adopting AI. It is identifying and developing leaders who know how to use AI responsibly, think strategically about change and bring people along in the process.
If your organization is rethinking its leadership needs in the age of AI, we would welcome the conversation.
-Kelly Kearney, Market President
Frequently Asked Questions
How is AI impacting executive recruiting in 2026?
AI is helping executive recruiters move faster in sourcing, market mapping, candidate analysis and executive summaries. However, leadership hiring still depends heavily on human judgment, trust, cultural understanding and relationship-building.
Is AI replacing executive recruiters?
Not in high-stakes leadership hiring. AI can improve efficiency, but executive search still requires human discernment, context, judgment and the ability to build trust between clients and candidates.
Why is speed-to-talent different from speed-to-placement?
AI can help recruiters identify and engage qualified candidates faster, but placement decisions still depend on interviews, stakeholder alignment, relationship-building, market conditions and the confidence needed to make a senior-level hiring decision.
What AI skills do leaders need now?
Leaders need practical AI fluency. That means using AI tools regularly, understanding where AI can improve productivity and decision-making, and knowing where human judgment must remain central.
