Instant calling or a bulk campaign
AI Calls for Candidate Screening
Candidate screening with an AI voice agent means every applicant gets a structured first-round phone screen — current CTC, expected CTC, notice period, location and key skills — without a recruiter dialling each number. Outpero calls new applicants within 30 seconds of applying, or works through a sourced list of hundreds of profiles as a bulk campaign, and sends the answers to your ATS, webhook or spreadsheet.
* Time from the lead reaching Outpero to the first ring, under normal conditions. It depends on how quickly your lead source delivers the lead.
At a glance
AI Calls for Candidate Screening: the short version
| How it works here | |
|---|---|
| How it starts | Runs on a trigger or on a list, depending on the job |
| Languages | Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and English |
| It captures | Current CTC, Expected CTC, Notice period, Current location |
| You measure it by | applicants screened per recruiter-day |
| Cost | No setup fee · from ₹5/min · number ₹649/month · Prices exclude 18% GST |
Why candidate screening calls breaks when people do it
A single Naukri or job-portal posting for a field sales or BPO role can draw several hundred applications in a week. Recruiters spend most of the day on two-minute calls that end with 'notice period is 90 days' or 'not willing to relocate to Pune', and the strong candidates who applied on Monday have accepted another offer by Friday. Screening is also inconsistent: different recruiters ask different questions and log answers in different formats.
Step by step
How it works
- 01Upload a CSV of applicants, or connect your careers page form or ATS to Outpero's webhook so new applicants are called within 30 seconds.
- 02The agent confirms the candidate applied for the role and checks whether it is a good time to talk.
- 03It asks your screening questions in order: current and expected CTC, notice period, current location, willingness to relocate or work shifts, and role-specific experience.
- 04It handles basic questions about the role, location and shift timings using the job description you provide.
- 05Answers are written into a spreadsheet live or sent to your webhook as structured fields, along with the recording and transcript.
- 06Recruiters filter on knock-out criteria and spend their own time only on shortlisted candidates.
Hear how a call goes
A sample candidate screening calls call
A candidate who applied online for a Sales Executive role at a Jaipur FMCG distributor, called within 30 seconds of applying. · Runs in Hindi with English words; shown here in English.
- Outpero AIHello, am I speaking with Rahul Sharma? This is an AI assistant calling for Maru Distributors regarding your application for the Sales Executive role. Do you have two minutes?
- CallerYes. Wait, is this a recorded message or a real person? And who will decide about my job?
- Outpero AII am an AI assistant, not a person. I only ask the first few questions and record your answers. The recruiter reads them and makes every hiring decision.
- CallerOkay, that is fine. Ask.
- Outpero AIThank you. How many years of field sales experience do you have, and in which product category?
- CallerThree years, in FMCG, biscuits and snacks, around Jaipur.
- Outpero AINoted. What is your current CTC, and what do you expect in this role?
- CallerCurrently 2.4 lakh a year. I expect around 3 lakh.
- Outpero AIAnd your notice period? This role needs travel in Jaipur and nearby towns. Are you comfortable with that?
- CallerOne month notice, and yes, travel is fine.
- Outpero AIThank you, Rahul. The recruiter will contact you if you are shortlisted. I am sending the job details on WhatsApp too.
Fields captured: 3 years FMCG field sales (biscuits, snacks), current CTC 2.4 lakh, expected CTC 3 lakh, notice period one month, comfortable with local travel. Recording and transcript attached; written to the screening sheet for the recruiter. Candidate asked whether a human decides and was told the recruiter does.
An example written to show the shape of the call, not a recording or a customer result.
What it captures on every call
Measured on: applicants screened per recruiter-day.
Connect it
How the trigger reaches Outpero
| Where it comes from | How it gets to the agent |
|---|---|
| Naukri, Indeed and job portal applications | Applicant alerts arriving by email are parsed or forwarded through Zapier or Make, or exported as CSV, with name, phone number and the role applied for. |
| Careers page application form | The form's submit action posts to Outpero's webhook with the role and phone number so the call starts within 30 seconds of applying. |
| ATS or HR spreadsheet | A webhook or Make scenario fires when a new row appears with status Applied, or you upload the sheet as a CSV for a bulk screening campaign. |
| Walk-in or referral lists | Phone numbers collected from referrals and job-fair desks are uploaded as a CSV and screened in a scheduled campaign with the same questions. |
| Screening result sheet | Answers are written live to a spreadsheet or sent to your webhook, so the recruiter filters on CTC, notice period and location in one view. |
Results go back out the same way: a webhook you provide, or a live spreadsheet or API call mid-call. WhatsApp messages and calendar bookings are opt-in per employee.
Opening line
How it opens the call
नमस्ते राहुल जी, आपने Sales Executive की job के लिए apply किया था। क्या अभी दो मिनट बात कर सकते हैं? आपकी current CTC और notice period कितना है?
“Hello Rahul, you applied for the Sales Executive job. Can we talk for two minutes now? What is your current CTC and notice period?”
The same call runs in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and English.
Price it
What candidate screening calls would cost you
Estimate: candidate screening calls
Defaults are an example for applicants screened, not a promise. Change any number to match your business.
Calls that actually connect — unanswered calls are not billed.
1 channel is included with your number; each extra is ₹649/month.
- Talk time per month
- 9,360 min
- Calling (₹5/min)
- ₹46,800
- Number + 3 channels
- ₹1,947
- Subtotal
- ₹48,747
- GST (18%)
- ₹8,774
About ₹16 per connected call before GST.
Run it well
What to track — and what goes wrong
| Track | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Completed screenings per applicant called | A low completion share means candidates are dropping mid-call; shorten the question list before changing anything else. |
| Knock-out reasons | If one criterion such as notice period removes most applicants, widen the job post or the filter, not the call volume. |
| Shortlist rate by source | Compare sources on shortlisted, not applied; a cheaper portal that gives more qualified candidates is the one to keep. |
| Candidate questions about the role | Repeated questions about shifts or pay point to gaps in the job post that you can fix once for every future applicant. |
- !Asking ten questions. Six or fewer keeps candidates on the call; the rest can wait for the recruiter's round.
- !Hiding that it is an AI. Candidates ask directly, and the agent should say so and name who decides.
- !Using screening answers as automatic rejection without a human review of the borderline cases.
- !Calling at a time when employed candidates are at work. Evenings and early mornings usually connect better than office hours.
Senior, leadership and highly specialised roles need a human conversation from the start. This is also the wrong tool for assessing skills or attitude; it collects facts and eligibility answers only.
Questions people ask
Is it acceptable to screen job applicants with an AI call in India?
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Calling someone about a job they applied for is a response to their own application, which is different from unsolicited telemarketing. You should still tell candidates the call is recorded, use the data only for hiring, and follow the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 on purpose and retention. Outpero calls from a DLT-registered line and keeps recordings and transcripts in your dashboard, where you control exports.
Can the agent screen for technical skills?
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It can ask about skills and experience and record what the candidate says — years of Java, whether they have handled a team, which driving licence they hold. It is not a technical interviewer and should not be used to grade code or test problem-solving live. Use it to remove clear mismatches and collect consistent data, then have a person run the technical round.
How does it handle candidates who switch between Hindi and English?
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The agent works in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and Indian English, and switches to English mid-sentence when the candidate does, in the same voice. That matters for blue-collar, retail and BPO hiring, where candidates are more comfortable in their own language but use English for terms like CTC, notice period and shift timing.
What does screening a 500-candidate list cost?
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Screening calls usually last two to three minutes. On Standard at ₹5 per connected minute, 500 candidates at an average of 2.5 minutes comes to roughly ₹6,250; on Premium at ₹6.8 per minute it is about ₹8,500. Unanswered calls are not billed because you pay only for connected talk time. There is no setup fee or monthly base fee, and credits never expire.
Can the agent also schedule the interview after screening?
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Yes. If a candidate clears your knock-out questions, the agent can offer interview slots from a connected calendar and book one on the same call, then send the address or video link on WhatsApp. Candidates who do not qualify are thanked and logged with the reason, so recruiters can revisit them for other openings later.
How much does an AI voice agent for candidate screening calls cost?
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Outpero has no setup fee and no monthly base fee — you pay only for connected talk time, from ₹5 per minute (1 credit = ₹1, credits never expire), plus ₹649/month for a dedicated calling number. You pay only for the minutes the agent is actually talking. Prices exclude 18% GST.
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