It wasn’t just free pens and tote bags at this year’s CIPD Festival of Work, there was also an elephant in the room. Not a real one, of course, but the metaphorical “Elephant in the Room” panel where everyone was talking about the impact of AI.
And right at the heart of that conversation (and all around the expo floor) was Scotty AI, a platform that builds and deploys intelligent AI agents to automate and improve HR and recruiting work (and more outside of recruitment). If you stopped by our booth (P70) or the AI Lab at ExCeL London on June 11–12, you likely met our trio of AI agents Sally, Sona, and Frankie. And if you attended the launch of Hudson Talent Fusion – Hudson RPO‘s bold new recruitment ecosystem powered by Scotty, you saw what happens when deep recruitment expertise meets real, working AI.
For those who missed it (or just want a proper recap), this is the story of what we brought to CIPD 2025: three AI agents, one powerful platform, and a shared mission to change how work gets done.
What is Scotty AI? The Multi-Agent AI Operating Platform
Scotty AI is a cognitive automation platform designed to take on the heavy lifting of HR and recruiting ( and more ) workflows. Instead of one single-purpose bot, Scotty deploys multiple specialized AI agents that work in concert. These agents can talk to people, interface with software (like ATS or HRIS systems), and even collaborate with each other. Crucially, Scotty integrates seamlessly into the tools and channels HR teams already use – ATS systems, email, web chat, WhatsApp, phone calls, Microsoft Teams, you name it. This omnichannel flexibility means Scotty’s AI assistants are available wherever your employees or candidates prefer to communicate.
Scotty’s platform emphasizes “AI as colleague” rather than just AI as tool. Each agent can carry out complex tasks (sourcing candidates, screening resumes, scheduling interviews, answering HR FAQs, etc.) autonomously, but always with the ability to loop in humans or hand off when needed. Scotty AI agents essentially function like digital team members, handling the repetitive and time-consuming tasks of recruitment and HR so that human professionals can focus on strategic, high-value work. By running thousands of conversations in parallel, 24/7, these agents enable small HR teams to accomplish what once took whole departments. The result? Faster hiring cycles, greater scalability, and a better experience for both candidates and employees.
Stan Wasowicz, Scotty’s co-founder, often frames it as an “AI or die” proposition for organizations – adopt AI-driven digital workers or risk falling behind.
“Companies that fail to embrace AI will be overtaken by those that do, as even a small team with AI agents can compete with a large enterprise.”
At CIPD 2025, that message resonated loud and clear. Now, let’s meet Sally, Sona, and Frankie – the three AI agents who showcased Scotty’s capabilities at the event.
Meet Sally: The Scotty AI Generalist
Sally is Scotty AI’s all-purpose digital assistant – essentially, the “Scotty AI Sales Agent.” At the CIPD Festival of Work, she was introduced as a “special guest” at Scotty’s booth. Sally’s role is to answer questions and be a live demo of Scotty’s knowledge and capabilities. Curious about how Scotty automates candidate screening? Need to hear a case study of a successful deployment? Want a product demo or info on pricing? Just ask Sally. She can explain her “team” (the various AI agents), describe use cases and compliance measures, provide pricing details – “anything you’d like to understand,” as the Scotty team puts it.
Throughout the event, Sally engaged attendees in friendly Q&As. For example, she could walk a visitor through a case study on improving employee onboarding, then instantly switch to scheduling a follow-up meeting or demo. In fact, one demo scenario had Sally schedule interviews for a hiring manager on the spot – showing how an AI agent could take a simple command (“Let’s book some interviews”) and handle all the coordination behind the scenes. Because Scotty AI agents are channel-agnostic, Sally could interact via a web chat interface at the booth, but she’s equally capable of responding over other channels like email or Slack. This flexibility across channels is one of Scotty’s strengths – the AI meets you where you are.
Sally, as a Scotty AI sales agent, exemplifies how an AI colleague can support HR teams in a myriad of tasks. She’s knowledgeable (backed by Scotty’s trove of HR data and context), always on, and quick to assist with both routine queries and complex requests. For CIPD attendees, chatting with Sally was an eye-opener – they weren’t just hearing about AI in HR, they were experiencing it first-hand, in a conversational and helpful manner.
And yes, Sally is available beyond the conference
Sally, as a Scotty AI sales agent, exemplifies how an AI colleague can support HR teams in a myriad of tasks. She’s knowledgeable (backed by Scotty’s trove of HR data and context), always on, and quick to assist with both routine queries and complex requests. For CIPD attendees, chatting with Sally was an eye-opener – they weren’t just hearing about AI in HR, they were experiencing it first-hand, in a conversational and helpful manner.
And yes, Sally is available beyond the conference
Sona: The Hudson Talent Fusion Recruiting Powerhouse
If Sally is the sales Agent, Sona is the specialist recruiter. Sona is an AI agent built as part of Hudson Talent Fusion, a new recruiting solution co-developed by Scotty AI and global RPO firm Hudson. Unveiled at CIPD 2025, Hudson Talent Fusion is described as “a next-generation hiring ecosystem that combines the intelligence of Agentic AI from Scotty AI with the power of automation and world-class delivery into one seamless solution.” In practice, that means human recruiters at Hudson RPO are now augmented by AI agents like Sona working alongside them. The vision: recruiters and AI side by side – speeding up hiring and improving outcomes through a blend of human expertise and AI efficiency.
Sona is a multilingual, multichannel recruiting assistant. She can engage candidates in multiple languages (Scotty supports 100+ languages, and Sona is fluent in key languages for global talent pools). Moreover, Sona isn’t limited to text chat – she “seamlessly transitions between channels, from web chat to phone calls,” handling both messaging and voice interactions with ease. This means Sona might start a conversation with a candidate via WhatsApp or web chat, then smoothly move to a phone call for a more personal touch, all within the same engagement. It’s a true omnichannel experience for candidates.
Built into Sona are the recruiting brains of Hudson RPO’s best practices. She can screen candidates, conduct preliminary interviews, answer candidate questions about the role or company, and even schedule interviews with hiring managers. All the while, human recruiters oversee the process and step in for high-level tasks – but much of the grunt work (like coordinating schedules or doing initial CV reviews) is off their plate.
Sona is a multilingual, multichannel recruiting assistant. She can engage candidates in multiple languages (Scotty supports 100+ languages, and Sona is fluent in key languages for global talent pools). Moreover, Sona isn’t limited to text chat – she “seamlessly transitions between channels, from web chat to phone calls,” handling both messaging and voice interactions with ease. This means Sona might start a conversation with a candidate via WhatsApp or web chat, then smoothly move to a phone call for a more personal touch, all within the same engagement. It’s a true omnichannel experience for candidates.
Built into Sona are the recruiting brains of Hudson RPO’s best practices. She can screen candidates, conduct preliminary interviews, answer candidate questions about the role or company, and even schedule interviews with hiring managers. All the while, human recruiters oversee the process and step in for high-level tasks – but much of the grunt work (like coordinating schedules or doing initial CV reviews) is off their plate.
“Hudson Talent Fusion isn’t just another platform – it’s how we deliver real, measurable outcomes across quality, cost, experience, and time,” says Jake Zabkowicz, Global CEO of Hudson RPO.
“Intelligent Hiring Starts Here is more than just a tagline – it’s a new model of recruiting. By integrating Scotty AI’s agents, like Sona, into our process, we’ve removed manual effort and delays, dramatically increased hiring velocity, and empowered our recruiters to focus on what they do best: strategic advising and relationship-building. The result? Immediate ROI and a more agile, inclusive, and candidate-friendly hiring experience.”
This is what human–AI collaboration looks like in practice: always-on engagement, accelerated decision-making, and happier candidates – without the extra headcount.
Frankie: Your Friendly Festival Companion
While Sally and Sona focus on HR and recruiting tasks, Frankie took on a very different job at CIPD Festival of Work 2025 – he became the attendees’ personal guide to the event. Frankie is an AI agent Scotty AI created specifically as a “Festival Companion” for CIPD. Think of Frankie as a friendly chat-based concierge available to any visitor via their phone or laptop. Need to find where the next panel discussion is? Ask Frankie. Looking for coffee or the nearest restroom at the venue? Frankie can point the way. Not sure when a certain speaker is on stage? Frankie has the schedule.
In short, “Frankie is an AI-powered festival companion, a free and unofficial tool, developed and operated by Scotty AI to enhance your experience at the CIPD Festival of Work.” He was available 24/7 during the conference via a simple web chat (no app download or even login required – just scan a QR code and chat in your browser). Frankie could navigate the event (“Ask Frankie where things are”), tell you “what’s on” at any given time including session details, answer frequently asked questions, and generally save everyone from flipping through paper guides or crowded websites. Importantly, Frankie wasn’t affiliated with the CIPD organizers officially – he was a bonus service from Scotty AI – but attendees loved having a digital helper at their fingertips.
Frankie showcases the omnichannel integration of Scotty’s platform in a public-facing way. He was accessible through web and mobile chat, but he could just as easily be deployed to channels like WhatsApp or a voice interface. (Imagine asking your voice assistant “Where is the CIPD keynote?” and Frankie answering – entirely doable with this tech.) And because he’s powered by the same Scotty AI backbone, Frankie had a wealth of knowledge – from venue maps to session content. Essentially, Scotty fed him the festival program and relevant info, and Frankie could parse natural language questions to retrieve the answers. The result? Attendees got instant, accurate responses and guidance. And because Frankie never sleeps, late-night questions (“What time does Day 2 start tomorrow?”) were handled just as well as midday ones. It’s a great example of how AI can improve employee or attendee experience in a friendly, non-intrusive way.
One conference-goer humorously dubbed Frankie “the MVP of CIPD 2025” – whenever someone looked lost or had a question, others would say “Have you asked Frankie?”.
This kind of seamless assistance is what modern L&D and HR events can adopt more widely. After all, why not have an AI concierge for your next company conference or onboarding week? Scotty AI has shown it’s possible, and frankly, attendees will expect it once they’ve experienced it.
One conference-goer humorously dubbed Frankie “the MVP of CIPD 2025” – whenever someone looked lost or had a question, others would say “Have you asked Frankie?”.
This kind of seamless assistance is what modern L&D and HR events can adopt more widely. After all, why not have an AI concierge for your next company conference or onboarding week? Scotty AI has shown it’s possible, and frankly, attendees will expect it once they’ve experienced it.
Integration and Omnichannel Superpowers
A major theme across all three agents – Sally, Sona, and Frankie – is integration. Scotty AI’s platform is built to plug into whatever systems and channels you use, so these agents truly work omnichannel. At CIPD, we saw it in action: Sona shifting from web chat to a voice call, Frankie pulling info from a schedule database, Sally scheduling meetings on Outlook calendars. The Scotty AI platform “integrates seamlessly with existing platforms like ATSs, communication channels (WhatsApp, phone, email), and productivity tools (Outlook, Microsoft Teams)”. That meant, for example, Sona could automatically log candidate interactions in Hudson’s ATS, or Frankie could send you a WhatsApp message with a link to the session you asked about.
For HR and TA professionals, this omnichannel capability is a game-changer. It ensures consistent engagement across touchpoints – candidates or employees can start talking to an AI assistant on one platform and continue on another without losing context. Consider a candidate’s journey: they might begin a job application on a career site where an agent greets them, then continue the screening conversation on WhatsApp during their commute, and even receive a follow-up phone call – all coordinated by the same AI system. Scotty AI’s agents enable this kind of fluid experience, which meets candidates on their terms. No wonder engagement rates are so high in deployments of these AI recruiters (more on results below). In the Scotty AI philosophy, the best AI coworker is one that’s always available wherever you need them, yet blends into your normal workflow. The CIPD festival showcase drove that point home, as people interacted with the agents via simple chats and calls, no special app or technical skill required.
Real-World Impact: Faster Hires, Lower Costs, Happier Candidates
Does it really work? This is the big question HR professionals ask of any new tech. The Scotty AI team came prepared with answers – and numbers. In a CIPD session on “Real-life Facts & Figures from Agentic AI Deployments”, they shared some eye-popping results from recent large-scale rollouts. Organizations using Scotty AI agents in their hiring process have achieved engagement rates of 65% (i.e. a huge portion of candidates actually interact with the AI) and cost savings of around 75% in recruitment operations. Time-to-hire has dropped dramatically as well, one example showed time-to-fill cut by 60% for a company after implementing Scotty’s automated screening and scheduling. In perhaps the most jaw-dropping statistic, an AI recruiting agent placed over 5,200 candidates in just 12 hours for Young-Capital – 99.7% faster than human recruiters had done in the past. That’s the power of parallel processing and 24/7 outreach; the AI doesn’t need sleep or coffee breaks to churn through hundreds of calls and chats.
Crucially, candidate experience appears to improve, not suffer, with these AI agents. Scotty AI deployments have seen candidate satisfaction scores around 90%. At CIPD, Hudson RPO’s team noted that their candidates and hiring managers are giving great feedback on Sona’s interactions. This isn’t just a Hudson anecdote – other use cases back it up. For instance, PostNL (the Dutch postal service) used Scotty AI for volume hiring and found that almost 92% of candidates rated their AI-driven experience 4 or 5 out of 5, with over half giving a full 5/5 stars. Fears that candidates “don’t want to talk to a robot” are proving largely unfounded; when the AI is helpful, responsive, and personable, people appreciate the efficiency. As one commentator put it, “Efficiency has scaled into empathy” with today’s AI – these agents can screen, schedule, redirect, and re-engage better than most humans, all while maintaining a polite and professional tone.
A great real-world example discussed at CIPD is “Abby” at Actief Werkt!. Actief Werkt! is a large staffing agency in the Netherlands, and Abby is their Scotty AI-powered virtual recruiter (launched in 2023). According to Stan Wasowicz, “Abby does essentially everything a recruiter does in the early stages of contact” – she reaches out to candidates, conducts the initial conversation, and even matches candidates to suitable jobs in the system. Importantly, Abby communicates just like a human recruiter: via phone calls, WhatsApp chats, etc., whichever the candidate prefers. The impact at Actief Werkt! has been significant. Abby can talk to thousands of candidates simultaneously, so response times have plummeted and no candidate falls through the cracks. In fact, Actief Werkt! saw a major increase in candidate inflow and interview intakes once Abby came on board, despite a very tight labor market.
Perhaps most impressively, Abby greatly expanded after-hours engagement. Candidates could interact on their own schedule, and they did. Nearly 42% of candidate conversations with Abby took place outside of regular working hours, early in the morning or late in the evening when human staff were off duty. That’s new talent being captured that previously might have lost interest by Monday. And Abby handles these late-night chats with the same ease as 2 PM chats, with no fatigue. Actief Werkt! also reported that candidates gave excellent feedback on the AI recruiter. Abby achieved an average satisfaction rating of 4.5 out of 5 from applicants. Candidates commented on the fast responses and the convenience of communicating via WhatsApp on their own time. And if a candidate wasn’t right for one job, Abby could even suggest other openings – turning a rejection into a redirect, which keeps candidates engaged rather than disappointed.
All these metrics point to a clear outcome: AI agents like Scotty’s drive faster hiring, at lower cost, while keeping (even boosting) human satisfaction. They eliminate repetitive manual work (one client saved the equivalent of 123 workdays by automating outbound cold-calls!), and they do it without sacrificing the personal touch. In many cases, the AI actually provides more consistent follow-up and communication, leading to candidates feeling more informed and respected in the process. As Stan Wasowicz highlighted, we’re quickly approaching a world where a lean HR team with AI can outperform a much larger team without it – and those who leverage these “digital workers” will have a major competitive edge in talent acquisition.
Ready to Let Scotty Do the Work? (Try It Yourself!)
Perhaps the best part of Scotty AI’s showcase at CIPD 2025 was that it wasn’t just talk, you could try the agents out directly. The good news is you can still give them a spin now. If you’re curious to see how an AI agent would interact with you or your candidates, Scotty AI has made Sally, and Frankie available to test drive:
- Chat with Sally (Scotty’s Sales Agent) – Ask her anything about Scotty AI’s platform, use cases, or even to walk you through a demo. She’s always ready to help.
Try it here - Ask Frankie (your festival buddy) – Though the CIPD event is over, Frankie can still show you how an AI concierge works. Feel free to ask him about the CIPD 2025 schedule or just experience his friendly guidance.
Try it here
Each of these will let you directly interact with Scotty AI’s agents and see their omnichannel abilities and natural language skills in real time. No special setup required – just click and chat. It’s a fun, hands-on way to envision how an AI agent might fit into your organization.
CIPD Festival of Work 2025 gave a glimpse into a future where AI “colleagues” like Sally, Sona, and Frankie work alongside us, not in a distant sci-fi scenario, but right now. The takeaway for HR, L&D, and TA professionals is clear: AI in HR is here, handling hiring, answering HR questions, guiding employees, and it’s making a positive impact. These agents exemplify how Scotty AI’s platform can automate the drudgery of our workflows while enhancing the human elements of work (through faster service and deeper engagement). As Hudson RPO’s Jake Zabkowicz noted, it’s about amplifying what recruiters and HR teams can do. The result is a win-win: candidates get faster, more personalized attention; employers fill roles quicker and at lower cost; and HR teams free up time for strategy and empathy that only humans can provide.
It’s an exciting time to be in HR and TA, as the tools we have at our disposal are evolving rapidly. If you’re exploring AI in recruitment or HR, take inspiration from Scotty AI’s showing at CIPD: start with a small pilot, bring in an AI agent for a specific workflow, and measure the results. You might just find that a digital coworker can be your team’s new best friend. In the spirit of Scotty’s own motto, “Let Scotty do the work” – offload the repetitive tasks to AI and watch how it transforms your work life. Your future HR team may well include brilliant agents like Sally, Sona, and Frankie, and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them.
