This guide was written by NTRVSTA, and we're one of the eight candidate screening tools in it. We used only what each company publishes about its own product, with links at the end, and we put a competitor at number one because it covers more screening channels than we do.
TL;DR
Candidate screening software decides who gets a recruiter's time. AI candidate screening now runs in five formats: live voice or video interviews, async voice screens, text chat, phone calls, and skills tests. The right one depends on your roles and on what your candidates will happily complete on a phone.
- Best for screening across voice, video, SMS and forms with one vendor: HeyMilo
- Best for a live, adaptive interview as the screen, for technical and non-technical roles: NTRVSTA (us)
- Best for a mobile text-chat interview at enterprise volume: Sapia.ai
- Best for AI phone screens on hourly roles with public pricing: Classet
- Best for screening on demonstrated skill instead of conversation: TestGorilla
The picks at a glance
What actually matters when choosing candidate screening software
Pick the format your candidates will finish. A five-minute phone call or a text chat suits hourly applicants who apply from a phone between shifts. A longer voice or video interview suits professional roles, where candidates expect to be tested and want to show what they know. If your automated candidate screening has a low completion rate, you're screening out people before you ever see them.
Weigh depth against speed. Chat and scripted phone screens confirm basics fast: availability, location, licenses, must-have experience. Adaptive interviews and skills tests tell you how well someone can actually do the work, but take longer. Many teams use a quick screen for knockouts, then a deeper one for the shortlist. Our guide on one-way vs live AI interviews covers the trade-offs in format.
Ask for the audit, not the adjective. Several vendors below point to an independent bias audit, and they differ in who ran it and how recent it is. Read each one, and read our explainer on AI bias audits so you know what a useful one contains.
1. HeyMilo
HeyMilo earns the top spot for breadth. HeyMilo says its agents screen candidates through two-way voice interviews, video interviews, SMS conversations and forms, around the clock and in 20+ languages, and score each response against your criteria with written reasons. It also scores resumes, verifies IDs and flags cheating, then syncs transcripts and reports to your ATS.
The ATS list is wide, from Workday and iCIMS to staffing systems like Bullhorn, Avionté and JobDiva. HeyMilo claims third-party bias audits, though it doesn't name NYC Local Law 144. Pricing isn't published. Read NTRVSTA vs HeyMilo for a direct comparison.
Best for: staffing firms and high-volume employers that want to meet candidates on whichever channel they prefer.
2. NTRVSTA (us)
NTRVSTA treats the screen as a real interview. Our AI interviewer meets candidates live, as a video avatar or by audio, and changes its questions and difficulty based on each answer, so a strong candidate gets pushed and a nervous one gets a fair path. It handles technical screens (coding languages, frameworks, system design on an interactive whiteboard) and non-technical ones (STAR behavioral questions, communication, leadership). A hint system shows how people respond to a nudge. AI resume scoring decides who gets invited.
Reports show a score breakdown for technical skills, English proficiency and communication, with video snippets you can replay. Plans are public, and the Growth plan works out to about $8.74 per interview at 80 a month. Our Local Law 144 bias audit by Asenion was finalized October 20, 2026; details are on our compliance page.
Where NTRVSTA isn't the right fit: we don't do SMS apply or chat-based scheduling, so very high-volume hourly hiring is better served by HeyMilo, Ribbon or Classet. We're also not an ATS, our native ATS list (Lever and others) is short, and our API is still coming soon.
Best for: professional and technical roles where a quick knockout screen doesn't tell you enough.
3. Ribbon
Ribbon says its AI interviewer holds live, two-way voice or video interviews that adapt to answers, on any phone, 24/7. It scores against custom rubrics, ranks applicants, and watches for off-screen activity. On fairness, Ribbon links an NYC Local Law 144 bias audit report and says it was last audited in 2025.
There's a 7-day free trial. Dayforce announced on October 23, 2026 that it agreed to acquire Ribbon; the deal had not closed when we checked.
Best for: frontline teams in warehousing, retail, hospitality and healthcare that want a self-serve voice or video screen.
4. Sapia.ai
Sapia.ai (formerly PredictiveHire) runs its screen as a structured text chat. Sapia says you design the interview in its Job Analysis Studio, every candidate answers the same questions by text on any device, and recruiters review scores through a Talent Intelligence Assistant. By Sapia's count, it has assessed 10M+ candidates with AI interviews running since 2018.
Sapia links an independent bias audit from its homepage and lists SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 42001. It integrates with Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, SmartRecruiters and others. Pricing isn't published.
Best for: large retail and service employers that want a low-pressure, text-based first round for every applicant.
5. BrightHire Screen
BrightHire, which Zoom acquired in December 2025, is best known for recording and summarizing human interviews. Its Screen product is what BrightHire calls an "always-on AI interviewer": an asynchronous, two-way voice screen (video optional per role) with follow-up questions generated from the job description. Recruiters get transcripts, summaries, scores and audio playback.
BrightHire says Screen has had an independent AI bias audit and supports 30+ languages. It lists SOC 2 Type 2. Pricing isn't published.
Best for: teams already using BrightHire for interview notes that want a first-round screen from the same vendor.
6. Classet
Classet's agent, Joy, phones applicants using your questions and must-haves, answers what they ask about the job, and books next steps by text and email. Each call gets a Strong, Good, Borderline or Weak label with quoted evidence. Classet says Warden AI audits it for bias every month.
Pricing starts at $249/mo billed annually for 50 completed interviews, and new accounts get 20 interviews free.
Best for: hourly employers who want phone screens done the same day someone applies.
7. TestGorilla
TestGorilla screens on skills first. It says it offers 350+ scored tests and job simulations, plus AI interviews with 3 to 9 structured questions and dynamic follow-ups that candidates complete on their own time. There's a free plan, and paid assessment plans start at $215/mo on annual billing.
Best for: SMB teams that want cheap, objective skill checks before any conversation.
8. Vervoe
Vervoe builds job simulations from your job description, then grades and ranks candidates with explainable scores, per Vervoe. It adds chat and voice screening before the simulation and an ID check. Vervoe says Holistic AI verified its NYC bias audit and audits it annually. Pricing isn't published.
Best for: teams that would rather watch candidates do a sample of the job than talk about it.
Our pick
- You hire across many channels and want one vendor for all of them: HeyMilo.
- You need the screen to show real technical or communication skill: NTRVSTA.
- Your applicants are frontline workers on phones: Ribbon or Classet for voice, Sapia.ai for text.
- You care most about skills evidence: TestGorilla or Vervoe.
- Your team already records interviews in BrightHire: try BrightHire Screen first.
Questions
What is candidate screening software?
It's software that does the first filter after someone applies. It can ask knockout questions, run a short AI interview, call the candidate, or give a skills test, then score the result so recruiters spend time on the strongest applicants.
Is AI candidate screening fair to applicants?
It can be, if it asks every candidate job-related questions, scores the answers rather than the person's voice or face, and is audited for bias. Ask each vendor for a recent independent audit, offer an alternative for candidates who need an accommodation, and keep a person accountable for decisions.
How long should an automated screen take?
Match it to the role. Hourly roles do well with screens of a few minutes. Professional and technical roles can support a 20 to 30 minute interview, because candidates expect to show their skills and the extra depth saves a later round.
Can I combine more than one screening tool?
Yes, and many teams do. A common setup is a fast knockout step (chat or phone), then a deeper interview or skills test for those who pass. Keep the total candidate time reasonable and make sure both tools write results to your ATS.
Curious how a live adaptive screen feels from both sides? Book a 20-minute demo with us, or try a sample interview as a candidate. See also our picks for AI phone screening tools and AI resume screening tools.
We checked pricing and features for every product here in October 2026. They change often, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.
Sources
- HeyMilo homepage
- HeyMilo pricing
- NTRVSTA pricing
- NTRVSTA NYC Local Law 144 bias audit
- Ribbon homepage
- Dayforce to acquire Ribbon
- Sapia.ai homepage
- Sapia.ai integrations
- BrightHire Screen
- Zoom acquires BrightHire
- BrightHire pricing and languages
- Classet homepage
- TestGorilla pricing
- TestGorilla AI interviews
- Vervoe homepage
