Frontline workers make up 80% of the global workforce, yet hiring for those roles remains one of HR’s biggest headaches. Talent acquisition software giant iCIMS wants to fix that—and it just bought Apli to help.
The acquisition, announced this week, adds Apli’s conversational AI hiring platform to iCIMS’ enterprise-grade recruitment suite. The result will be iCIMS Frontline AI, a new solution designed to make high-volume hiring faster, smarter, and far more candidate-friendly.
Why Apli Matters
Founded in Latin America, Apli has carved out a niche as one of the most innovative hiring tech startups. Its chat-first platform helps enterprises attract, screen, and assess frontline candidates via WhatsApp, text, and web chat—channels workers already use daily.
The results are striking:
- 90% of the hiring process automated
- 10x more hires per recruiter
- 75% faster time-to-fill
- 40% lower turnover, thanks to better-fit matches
In short, Apli is built for speed and scale, two pain points that plague frontline-heavy industries like retail, hospitality, healthcare, and manufacturing.
iCIMS Levels Up Its AI Play
iCIMS already sits at the enterprise end of recruiting software, trusted by global brands for its AI-powered platform. But high-volume frontline hiring has been a tougher nut to crack. By integrating Apli’s conversational AI and assessments directly into its system, iCIMS can now serve both corporate and frontline roles from a single platform.
“This acquisition accelerates our vision to harness the power of AI across the full spectrum of recruiting and hiring,” said iCIMS CEO Jason Edelboim. “Combining Apli’s technology with our enterprise AI platform will deliver faster innovation and better experiences for recruiters, candidates, and hiring managers.”
Eric Connors, iCIMS’ Chief Product Officer, was even more pointed: “Frontline workers are the foundation of industries like healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, and retail—but hiring for these roles at scale still presents a challenge. Apli directly addresses the pain points of frontline hiring.”
The Market Impact
Recruitment tech has seen an arms race around AI, from conversational chatbots to predictive analytics. Legacy players like Workday and Oracle are layering in automation, while startups like Paradox and Fountain target high-volume hourly hiring.
iCIMS’ move signals it doesn’t want to cede ground in frontline hiring to younger rivals. Instead, it’s folding Apli’s proven model—recognized by Fast Company and MIT’s Future of Work initiative—into its broader responsible AI framework.
What’s Next
Apli’s existing customers in Latin America will continue to be supported, while iCIMS customers worldwide can soon add iCIMS Frontline AI as part of their recruiting suite. Expect faster application flows, smarter assessments, and a consumer-grade experience that feels more like a chat than a job application form.
As Apli co-CEOs Vera Makarov and José María Pertusa put it: “Joining forces with iCIMS allows us to reimagine frontline hiring with AI on a global stage.”
For industries struggling to fill frontline roles, this could be a serious competitive edge.
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