What AI tells your next hire about you

The Work Ahead is AI-era culture intelligence for CEOs and CHROs, from the research behind Most Loved Workplace®. Every Wednesday.

This week: a 10-minute test. Ask AI the five questions candidates ask most about you, then see whose evidence it uses: yours, your reviews, or nobody's.

Let's dive in 👇

— Lou

Around the Corner

Last week I wrote that every company says its people come first, and almost none can prove it. This week, let's see what your proof looks like from the outside.

Before a candidate ever talks to your recruiter, they've already had a conversation about you. Not with you. With an AI assistant.

They ask what it's like to work there, and they get a confident, polished answer in seconds. Most leaders have never read that answer. Your next hire already has.

So this week I'm giving you a test. It takes about ten minutes, and you don't need anyone's permission to run it.

The Evidence

It's the gap HR and talent leaders bring up most on calls with my team this year. Their culture feels strong from the inside. From the outside, candidates can't see it.

Here's why. AI assistants don't take your word for it. They look for evidence they can cite. Your careers page is one voice, and it's yours. Review sites are many voices, unverified, and often written on someone's worst day. When there's nothing better to cite, AI uses what's there, or it hedges.

So the same company can feel like a place people love working on the inside and read like a question mark from the outside. The feeling is real. It just isn't findable.

That's not a branding problem you can fix with better copy. It's an evidence problem. And the first step is to see it for yourself.

The Fallout

For Employers: Your next hire's first impression is now an AI answer you didn't write. You can't control it, but you can give it better evidence to cite.

For Employees: Run the test on your own company, or on one you're thinking of joining. If AI can only quote reviews, ask the recruiter what proof they have.

For your CFO: Don't ask for an ROI number. Ask one question: what does it cost us when a strong candidate reads an AI answer about us and never applies? Every role that stays open longer has a price. Proof is the cheaper fix.

Your Move → The 10-Minute AI Test

Open a private browser window so the answers aren't personalized. Then ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google (its AI Overview or AI Mode) the five questions candidates ask most about an employer:

1. "What's it like to work at [your company]? Do employees love it?"

2. "What are the managers and leaders like at [your company]?"

3. "Can I grow my career at [your company]?"

4. "How flexible is [your company], and what are the benefits like?"

5. "How does [your company] treat people when times get hard?"

For each answer, look at the sources and sort them into four piles:

• Your proof: independent, verified evidence of how your people feel, like a certification profile or research about you.

• Your own words: your careers page, job posts, press releases.

• Reviews: anonymous review sites and forums.

• Nothing: AI hedges, guesses or says it doesn't know.

Then ask the same five questions about your top two competitors for talent. You'll see quickly whose evidence AI trusts.

Last step: screenshot the answers and bring them to your next leadership meeting. Put them next to your values. If the two don't match, you have your agenda. It's the fastest way I know to turn "our brand is fine" into a real conversation.

Worth a Conversation

If your test turned up more reviews than proof, that's the gap Most Loved Workplace® closes. We measure how emotionally connected your people feel, then turn it into verified evidence that candidates and AI can find and cite.

Want us to do it for you? Book a free Employer Brand Strategy Check: a 15-minute call. We run the AI test with you, show which Most Loved Workplace® badges you qualify for and how you compare with competitors, and you get a personalized 14-page Complete Employer Brand Report. Already ran the test? Bring your screenshots.

Already Most Loved Workplace® certified? AI can only cite what it can find. Make sure your Most Loved Workplace® profile is complete and current: leadership, growth, benefits and open roles. America's Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces® list is coming Nov 4, so it's also a good time to ask which Top 100 or category badges your data qualifies you for. Ask my team →

See you next week,

— Lou
from Louis Carter, Founder & CEO, Best Practice Institute and Most Loved Workplace®

P.S. Run the test before your next leadership meeting. Want us to do it for you? Book a free 15-minute Employer Brand Strategy Check. We run the AI test with you on the call. You'll see which Most Loved Workplace® badges you qualify for and how you compare with competitors, and you leave with a personalized 14-page Complete Employer Brand Report. No contracts. Get my free strategy check →

The Work Ahead is published weekly, every Wednesday, by Louis Carter. AI-era culture intelligence for CEOs and CHROs, from the research behind Most Loved Workplace®. Watch Lou on YouTube.

Source: Vonage's company profile from Most Loved Workplace®.