CEOs say the darndest things

If you ain’t self-promoting, you ain’t trying.

Sometimes CEOs just say dumb sh*t to grab headlines. (No, I don’t mean Coldplay kiss-cam style headlines.)

I touched on this in my Fox32 Chicago interview last week. And a day later, Perplexity’s CEO drove home (in a bad way.)

If you missed it, from Gizmoto: “AI Will Replace Recruiters and Assistants in Six Months, Says CEO Behind ChatGPT Rival.”

My take: lol.

First, understand the financial media concept of “talking your book.” It’s a time-honored tradition in the finance industry for anyone with a platform (Twitter, CNBC, etc.) to pump a stock…because they own some of it.

If you’re holding AI stocks, you promote the AI industry because more people buying AI stocks puts cash in your pocket.

This extends to company executives trying to promote their brand. Get headlines by making bold claims, even if those claims aren’t based in reality.

Some marketers call this “smart PR.” I call it “bullsh*t.”

In the past year, CEOs from places like Robinhood, Salesforce, Amazon, and Bank of America, all made statements about how they’re using AI to streamline workflows, improve operations, and even replace employees.

Keep in mind: “AI-washing” is a thing. If you remember, Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” store was purported to use AI to track purchases, but really they were using cameras and offshore labor. Because it was cheaper. But that’s another rant entirely…

Moral of the story, CEOs will say anything that makes them sound smart, tech-savvy, and boosts their stock price. (Because that’s how they get bonuses. Yet another rant for another day.)

As for Perplexity saying recruiters will no longer be needed? We are seeing the opposite problem.

Yes, AI will 100% make recruiters more efficient. The amount of repetitive daily tasks anyone in the industry does is pretty mind-numbing.

But, like any robot, the Perplexity CEO doesn’t understand how human nature applies to recruiting:

👉Recruiting is a human relationship business.

Any great recruiter (internal or agency) understands the need for human rapport, trust building and handling sensitive conversations. Candidates don’t just reply to every email or open up to just anyone.

👉Judgement calls require context, not just data.

Nuance, you guys. Reconsidering great candidates who don’t check every box. Fixing mismatched expectations between hiring managers and candidates. Understanding that hiring & job searching are both highly emotional.

Bots ain’t doing that.

👉Selling the value of the company in terms that a candidate will respond to.

AI. Can’t. Sell.

(And if you don’t understand that recruiting is a sales job, you shouldn’t even be chiming in on this topic.)

But, Perplexity got me talking about it. I guess that’s a win for them?