SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Oct. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paylocity (NASDAQ: PCTY), a leading provider of HCM, Finance, and IT solutions, today introduced Recruiting Optimizer, a new AI-powered solution that extends Paylocity Recruiting with AI agents embedded directly into recruiting workflows to automate the identification, engagement, and candidate hiring process while making recruiting teams more productive.

Rising applicant volumes make it harder for recruiting teams to identify qualified candidates, keep applicants engaged, and fully leverage existing talent pools. Recruiting Optimizer uses purpose-built AI agents to automate recruiting workflows across talent rediscovery, candidate engagement, screening, and interview scheduling. Recruiters maintain control by configuring the criteria, triggers, and decision points each agent follows, while reviewing outputs and exercising judgment at key stages of the hiring process. This allows routine tasks to be automated at scale, while keeping people in control of candidate evaluation and hiring decisions.

As part of Paylocity Ignite AI, Recruiting Optimizer introduces two agents:

• Candidate Engagement Agent delivers an always-on candidate experience that keeps applicants engaged from initial interest through hiring. Conversational AI, across web and SMS, helps candidates find and apply for relevant roles and complete predefined screening questions, while assisting with interview scheduling based on recruiter-defined criteria. By automating high-volume candidate interactions, organizations can reduce candidate drop-off, accelerate time-to-hire, and manage larger candidate pipelines without adding headcount.
• Talent Rediscovery Agent helps recruiters identify qualified candidates already in their talent pools by surfacing previous applicants who match current hiring needs and summarizing their prior application and interview activity for the recruiter’s review. By helping recruiters quickly reconnect with qualified candidates who have already expressed interest in the organization, it reduces sourcing effort and helps fill roles faster.

“Before implementing Paylocity’s latest recruiting tools, our recruiters spent a significant amount of time on administrative work, from scheduling interviews and screening candidates to managing follow-ups,” said Dale Jakins, HR Director, Tim Dahle Auto Group. “By automating much of that work, these new capabilities have helped us save approximately 5–8 hours per week, giving recruiters more time to identify top talent, build meaningful candidate relationships, and make faster, more informed hiring decisions.”

“Recruiting is filled with candidate interactions where delays can mean losing top candidates, extending time-to-fill, and putting additional strain on teams,” said Melissa King, SVP of Products & Technology at Paylocity. “Recruiting Optimizer helps organizations remove friction from the hiring process by embedding AI directly into recruiting workflows, helping recruiters be more productive while keeping them in control of hiring decisions.”

Woven into the flow of recruiting work, Recruiting Optimizer complements Paylocity Recruiting’s existing tools for sourcing, screening, interviewing, reporting, and extending offers. Through Paylocity’s unified platform, the solution connects recruiting with onboarding and the employee record, reducing duplicate entry and creating a more seamless transition from candidate to employee.

Learn more about Paylocity Recruiting at https://www.paylocity.com/products/hr/talent-management-system/recruiting/.

About Paylocity

Headquartered in Schaumburg, IL, Paylocity (NASDAQ: PCTY) is an award-winning provider of HCM, Finance, and IT software solutions. Paylocity offers one unified, easy-to-use platform that helps businesses across HR, Finance, and IT streamline operations, manage spend and talent, and build culture and connection—with AI embedded directly into everyday workflows to save time, reduce manual effort, and support better decisions. Known for its unique culture and consistently recognized as one of the best places to work, Paylocity accompanies its clients on the journey to create great workplaces and help all employees achieve their best. For more information, visit www.paylocity.com.

Contact:
Nicole Andergard Reddy
NReddy@Paylocity.com