[Digital Today reporter Chi-gyu Hwang (황치규)] Microsoft has worked to sell AI to corporate customers, but assessments of its results are mixed. The Information reported on April 16 that only 3 percent of Microsoft 365 users paid for the AI assistant 365 Copilot as of the end of last year.

Against that backdrop, an AI product launched by its subsidiary LinkedIn last fall is drawing attention for results strong enough to attract interest from Microsoft executives.

The product is Hiring Assistant, used by recruiters to find and contact job candidates.

Based on models from OpenAI and other AI companies, it focuses on automating the manual process of searching for people on the LinkedIn platform. LinkedIn offers Hiring Assistant as part of its higher-priced Recruiter subscriptions for recruiters. Plans that include Hiring Assistant are not cheap. On a monthly basis, they range from hundreds of dollars per user and can exceed 10 million dollars. The Information, citing LinkedIn customers, reported that LinkedIn charges extra if users exceed usage limits for AI.

Despite the steep price, revenue from Hiring Assistant is rising rapidly.

The company said weekly customer numbers have been increasing 36 percent since its launch in September last year. Average usage is also rising. Its ability to filter a pool of suitable candidates is reported to be highly rated among recruiters.

As Hiring Assistant gains traction, other parts of Microsoft are also taking notice. The Information reported that Microsoft is studying Hiring Assistant to find tactics that could be applied to Copilot products.