- Indeed is launching an AI-powered tool called Pathfinder to help job seekers discover career paths.
- Jessica Jensen, chief marketing officer at Indeed, said the focus will be on positioning Indeed as a “lifetime talent agency.”
- Indeed’s internal marketing team is handling the launch.
Indeed is preparing for the 2025 launch of an artificial intelligence tool called Pathfinder. The company said Pathfinder will help people connect with careers and job opportunities that match their skills, even when their resume or educational background doesn’t match.
The new product comes as job seekers report deep frustration with the hiring process, citing indignities like “ghost jobs” and overwhelming competition.
“There is confusion and a fair degree of desperation in certain sectors of the job market, and that’s true,” Jessica Jensen, Indeed’s chief marketing officer, told Business Insider.
Announcing Pathfinder at the company’s FutureWorks event in September, Indeed CEO Chris Hyams shared the story of his daughter’s job-hunting struggles. He quoted her as saying: “Feel free to tell everyone that this is more stuffy.”
One key data point catalyzed the development of Pathfinder: The most common search on Indeed’s site is location name and “blank”—nothing in the “what” box where a job title or keyword is usually placed.
“We call this the empty question,” Hyams said. “The blank request basically says ‘tell me what you’ve got.’
Hyams told BI that generative AI, like a human recruiter, can help explain why a job might be a good fit for someone like his daughter – even if the role deviates from her career path or experience.” What we can do is go to the AI generator and say, “Here’s a person here is a job.” And then you can explain to her that it will boost your organizational skills,” he said.
“This is our very simple vision for the future,” Hyams told the FutureWorks audience. “Indeed, every worker in the world will have their own personal talent agent. With the power of AI, it’s now possible.”
Jessica Jensen is the Chief Marketing Officer at Indeed Courtesy of Indeed
Communicating the benefits of Pathfinder to job seekers and employers
Pathfinder will launch on iOS only in early 2025. Jensen said a priority for the marketing team is to “help people understand that Indeed is not just about job hunting, it’s about discovering and exploring jobs and careers.” .
The company’s internal marketing team is executing the product launch and channels will include email, events and job seeker content. Currently, the product is in beta testing and pre-launch.
Pathfinder’s target users are job hunters, but Indeed’s messaging to employers is an ongoing priority, Jensen told BI. Companies report that they can’t find good candidates, but they may not always be proactively reaching out or including critical information in their job postings.
“So we educate employers,” Jensen said. “You need to include your salary in your job listing. You need to include specifics about location, hours of work—all the things people care about.”
Jensen said Indeed tells companies it’s important to reach out to candidates and invite them to apply. “Employer engagement is so valuable and delivers better outcomes for jobseekers and employers.”
It’s really focusing on the job seeker’s pain point and how Pathfinder can identify ways to redirect or reinforce an existing career path.
“It will be an extension of our message of being a lifelong talent agent,” Jensen said. “To help people know that we’re in their corner when they’re in a job search mode, or just trying to figure out what they want to be when they grow up.”