AIRPA The Webinar

PART 01 What is AI-RPA›

AI-RPA · AI Recruitment Process Automation

Think of AI-RPA as a business model, not a tool. The letters stand for AI Recruitment Process Automation.

RAIM built it specifically for recruitment agencies, and it is powered by Claude, a leading AI engine.

Rather than adding one more piece of software, it brings AI into the tech stack you already use, giving your agency a full AI workforce that quietly runs the repetitive 80% of the work behind the scenes.

Your recruiters spend their time where it counts, with clients and candidates.

The whole thing in one minute

What is it

An AI workforce that runs the repetitive 80% of a recruitment desk. Research, lead lists, outreach, CV formatting, candidate prep, interview booking and reporting, all handled. Your people keep the 20% that matters, the relationships.

Why it was built

The contingent model is dying. Fees race to zero, five agencies fight for every role, recruiters burn out on admin, and clients grow more AI savvy than the agencies serving them. AI-RPA is the way out.

What it does

It runs the desk end to end. It wins the client, sets up the engagement, delivers the roles and retains them through a live transparency dashboard. A team of 5 highly skilled AI-Recruitment agents, covering 5 phases, installed in your agency.

PART 02 The opportunity›

The next 24 months

Agencies with AI embedded are 3.5 to 4.5 times more likely to have grown revenue, and only about 10% have it in place today. In every market that is one client, one agency, and the window to win the retained contracts is open right now.

Source · Bullhorn GRID 2026 Industry Trends

The prize is growing, and it recurs

$31B

retained market by 2033, more than double today

3.5×

more likely to grow revenue with AI

~10%

of agencies have AI embedded

6×

what a retained, AI run agency sells for, versus 4× contingency

The AI empowered recruiter

AI hands every recruiter back a full working day, every week, to spend on the one thing that wins clients, the relationships.

Source · LinkedIn, The Future of Recruiting

PART 03 Who this is for›

Who this is for

Does any of this sound like you?

You only get paid when you place. No placement, no pay.

Every month you start from zero. Nothing recurring, ever.

You are one of five agencies on every role, discounting to win it.

You are working harder than ever, for less than you used to make.

You want to innovate to beat your competitors, before they beat you.

The day you stop, the money stops. You are the business.

If you just nodded, you are exactly who this was built for.

The breaking point

Recruiter burnout is forcing a rethink of admin work.

61%

of recruiters report burnout

45%

trace it directly to repetitive admin

PART 04 The AIRPA business model›

AIRPA · AI Recruitment Process Automation

78% of the fastest growing recruitment agencies
already have AI embedded across the desk.

This year 93% of recruiters will grow their AI use.

Source · Bullhorn GRID 2026 · LinkedIn, The Future of Recruiting

Now picture your whole desk

Every one of these, handled for you. Every day. Without you in the room.

Winning new retained and exclusive clients
Pitching and proving the model live
Sourcing every role in hours, not weeks
Screening every CV and ranking the best
Nurturing candidates and booking the interviews
Closing the offers and confirming the starts
Reporting, renewing and growing every account

Your people keep the relationships. The engine runs the rest, at scale. This is the agency you have always wanted to own.

Two agencies. Same market. 24 months on.

With AIRPA

Owns the client

Wins the exclusive job, retainer, or RPO, no one else bidding
A 3 person team delivers what used to take 10
£80k a year recurring per client, not a one off fee
Worth 6× at exit, a business it can actually sell
The one partner the client will not replace

Without it

Fights for scraps

Still one of five on every role, fees racing to zero
Employee heavy, working traditional and outdated
Your clients become more AI savvy than you
Worth 4× and shrinking, replaceable and knows it
You are outdated and irrelevant

PART 05 Your future proof investment›

Everything you get

One install.
The whole AI agency,
done for you.

The core

The AIRPA engine, every agent you just saw

The complete AI workforce, winning, setting up, delivering and retaining. The 80% that runs itself, installed and running in your agency.

£40,000

+Done with you install & 5 day mobilisation

We stand the engine up and get your first client live in a working week, alongside you. No months of setup.

£8,000

+The Live Client Dashboard, white labelled

Your branded transparency layer, the flagship piece that wins exclusive, retained contracts. And not just one, every single client they sign gets their own individualised live dashboard.

£15,000

+The Agency Playbook

Who to target, what to sell, the full pitch to handover process, SLAs and pricing. The whole operating manual.

£5,000

+The pitch, proposal & ROI kit

The challenger pitch, the contingent versus retained calculator and the proposal templates, generated per client.

£5,000

+6 months office hours, community & every new agent

Weekly support and the movement of AIRPA agencies. And every new agent we build is shipped to you as it lands, at no additional cost, including relocation agents that let you offer international support. The engine only grows. See it live in the platform →

£7,000

Total value

£0

installed and running in your agency

Your investment

£11,999

one time, as a founding agency

This is not for the next 90 days. It is the engine that runs your agency for the next 12 to 24 months, and it keeps evolving. We stay at the front of the innovation, taking traditional recruitment agencies into the AI era.

PART 06 Your next step›

You have seen the model, the machine and the proof. Here is exactly how to install it, and why the moment to move is now.

What it costs the client

You save them £260,000 a year, and they watch every pound of it work, live.

£400k

their contingency spend today, lumpy, one off, split across the rivals they also pay

£140k

the same 40 hires on AIRPA, one exclusive partner, nobody else bidding

What it returns to you

And that £140,000 is yours. Recurring. Every single month.

£60k

retainer, about one senior recruiter's salary, paid monthly

£80k

bonus, £2,000 on every one of 40 hires you deliver

No bids

one exclusive partner, never racing fees to zero again

6×

what a retained, AI run agency sells for at exit, versus 4×

You set your own retainer and bonus. Anchor it to one senior recruiter, reward delivery, and flex both to fit the client in front of you. That freedom is your leverage in every deal.

The offer

The AIRPA Founding Agencies

We are installing AIRPA with a small founding group this quarter, done with you, with everything in the stack above, at a founding rate in exchange for building the first named case studies with us. When the cohort is full it closes, and the price goes up for everyone after.

~~£total value~~ FOUNDING RATE, Guy to set

Payment terms. Placeholder, e.g. a deposit to begin the install, the balance only once your first client is live and delivering on the dashboard. Guy to confirm the split. Paying the bulk only when it is working is itself a way you take risk off their plate.

On the call we anchor it two ways: against the total value above, and against the real world, it is a fraction of one senior recruiter's salary, and it pays for itself on the first retained client you win with it.

The risk is on us, not you

Our recommended guarantee: we work alongside you until your first retained client is live and delivering on the dashboard. If they are not live within 90 days of your first booked pitch, we keep working with you, free, until they are. You are not buying software and being left alone, you are buying an outcome, and we do not stop until you have it.

[ Guy to confirm the exact guarantee terms are deliverable before this goes live. ]

Why now, honestly, two real reasons. The founding cohort is genuinely limited so we can do each install properly. And the ~10% AI adoption window means the agencies who move first own the retained relationships in their sector before their rivals wake up. This is not a fake timer. It is the two things that are actually true.

The honest truth about the decision

The fear is not that this will not work, you have watched it work. The fear is picking the wrong moment to move. So let us make the decision small and clear.

Exactly what happens when you book the call

A 30 minute strategy call
We look at your agency, your sector and your current model, and confirm whether AIRPA is a fit. No pressure, no obligation.
We map your first client
Together we identify the exact client and roles you would win first, and what your retainer plus bonus could look like.
You decide, with the numbers in front of you
If it is a fit and a founding spot is open, we scope the install. If not, you leave with a clear plan either way.

Book your AIRPA strategy call →

One 30 minute call to scope your install and confirm your founding spot. Placeholder link, wire to the booking page.

Questions we answer before they are asked

"Will the AI replace the human touch my clients pay for?"
No, it removes the 80% grind so your people spend all their time on the 20% clients actually value: the relationship.
"I am not technical, can I actually run this?"
You run it in plain language. If you can brief a junior recruiter, you can operate the engine.
"What if my clients will not go retained?"
You start with a low risk module or a project, prove it on the dashboard, and grow it into a retainer. The transparency is what changes their mind.
"How is this different from just using AI tools myself?"
Point tools do one task. AIRPA is the whole orchestrated business model, winning and delivering, plus the dashboard that wins exclusivity.

PART 07 The five things stopping you›

You have just seen the machine. Now the five objections a traditional agency raises, and why, in 2026, none of them survive contact with the facts.

Objection 1 · is it even real?

Yes, AI is already running recruitment desks, today

The doubt: "This sounds like hype. AI can't really run 80% of the work yet."

It already does. You just watched the engine do it, stage by stage. Agencies using AI are 3.5 to 4.5× more likely to have grown revenue, and AI cuts sourcing and screening time by 26 to 75%. This is not the future, it is the ~10% of firms already doing it, before everyone else catches on.

Objection 2 · can I run it?

You do not build anything, and you do not need to be technical

The doubt: "This will take me months to set up, and I'm not a tech person."

The engine is pre built. A signed client is live in five working days, with candidates in their pipeline that first week. You operate it in plain language, if you can brief a junior recruiter, you can run the engine. No code, no integrations to wire.

Objection 3 · will AI make us impersonal?

AI removes the grind, so your people do more of what clients pay for

The doubt: "Recruitment is a people business. AI will make us impersonal and hurt our quality."

The opposite happens. AI runs the 80% of admin and sourcing that pulls your recruiters away from people, so your team spends its time on the relationships and judgement clients actually pay for. AI assisted outreach is 9% more likely to make a quality hire, and 55% of top performers saw KPIs rise 25% from AI screening alone. The human touch is not removed, it is finally given the time it deserves.

Objection 4 · does the ROI actually work?

It costs a fraction of one recruiter, and one retained client pays for it

The doubt: "This sounds expensive, and I'm not sure the numbers work for an agency my size."

The engine is pre built and priced at a fraction of a single senior recruiter's salary, with no team to hire. Retained, AI run delivery runs at 40 to 60% lower cost per hire, and a 3 person agency delivers what used to take 10. One retained client covers it, and embedded firms sell for 5 to 6× EBITDA versus 4× for contingency.

Objection 5 · isn't AI a risk?

AI is now your best defence against the risks you already carry

The doubt: "AI feels risky. Bias, mistakes, candidate fraud, and data protection."

The risk is already on your desk today. 64% of employers report candidate misrepresentation, and AI flagged interview cheating jumped from 9% to 38.5% in a year. AIRPA builds in verification and keeps a human on every hiring decision, so AI becomes the layer that catches fraud and protects your data, not the thing that creates the risk. It is exactly why 58% of employers now want a partner to help them navigate AI and fraud.

Still not convinced? Here is the proof.

1 · The system is real, you just watched it

You have seen the engine run and the dashboard update live in this session. That is the proof that matters most: not a slide, the actual machine working on real roles.

2 · The model is proven, named agencies already winning on retained, embedded recruitment at scale:

Healthcare · Sevenstep

50 → 6,000+ hires a year

96% hiring manager satisfaction across four contract renewals.

Manufacturing · Randstad

153 → 60 day time to fill

A 61% reduction, at 75% less cost than a search firm. Grew 33 → 200+ hires a year.

Pharma · Hudson RPO

1,100 hires in 9 months

Across 300+ cities at 96% hiring manager satisfaction.

5.2d → 18.5h

time to submit after AI (NinjaHire), 85% faster

70%

cut in time to shortlist with AI (Gem)

~32 hrs

of delivery work removed from every single role filled

5 days

from signature to candidates in the client's pipeline

Real, runnable, and it sharpens quality, works on the numbers, and lowers your risk. Every reason to wait just fell away.

PART 06 Market research›

Verdict · evidence high

RPO and retained recruitment are growing strongly and accelerating, the defining structural shift in agency recruitment in 2026. Contingency revenue is eroding across every major staffing firm while RPO grows, AI is already the primary differentiator, and client demand for embedded partners is documented. AIRPA sits exactly at the convergence of the two accelerating trends, contingency to retained, and human only to AI augmented.⁴⁵⁶

$12.8–16.6B

2026 global RPO market size¹³

12–21%

CAGR, market at least doubles by ~2033¹²

+8% vs −2.3%

Randstad RPO fees grew while contingency fell, 2025⁶

3.5–4.5×

AI using firms more likely to have grown revenue⁴

69%

of RPO clients report positive ROI⁵

40–60%

lower cost per hire vs contingency¹¹

only 10%

of firms have AI embedded throughout, the open gap⁴

58%

of RPO buyers considering switching, execution matters⁵

The shift is real, contingency is eroding

Randstad 2025, organic revenue down 2.3% but RPO fees up 8%. Kelly Services' growth came "almost entirely" from RPO.⁶

Greg Savage, Feb 2026, "the contingent, multi listed perm market, that is over." One of the most respected voices in global recruitment.⁷

Recruiterflow 2026, "RPO, retained search and contract staffing are growing while pure contingent placement stays soft."⁶

Top quartile recruiters make 5.21 placements a year vs 1.38, the winning edge is quality, which the embedded model rewards.⁶

AI is the number one differentiator, already, not "future"

AI using firms are 3.5 to 4.5× more likely to have grown revenue, up to 6× for screening and recruiter ramp up.⁴

55% of top performers saw KPIs improve 25% plus from AI screening alone, AI cuts sourcing and screening time 26 to 75%.⁴

Only 10% of firms have AI embedded throughout, 2026 is the year of early adoption to full integration. Huge open gap.⁴

93% of recruiters plan to increase AI use in 2026, agentic AI now runs pipelines end to end (Hudson's Human Led Agentic AI framework).⁸¹²

Clients want embedded partners, not seat fillers

RPOA (n=998 employers), buyers want partners to "navigate AI disruption, combat candidate fraud, and deliver measurable business impact."⁵

Pin, 2026, "demand is clearly heading away from one off contingency placements and toward embedded recruiting partnerships."¹⁰

Internal TA teams were cut in 2024 to 2025 and cannot rebuild fast enough, driving structural RPO demand.¹¹

Modular, on demand RPO is the fastest growing segment (~17% CAGR), the exact door mid market agencies can walk through.¹

Value, high for both sides

Agency, recurring revenue, embedded and niche firms trade at 5.0 to 6.0× EBITDA at exit vs 4.0 to 4.5× for generalist contingency, defensible relationships, fatter margins via AI leverage.¹⁰⁴

Client, 69% positive ROI, 40 to 60% lower cost per hire, 80% more likely to call hiring "consistent", retained placement satisfaction 92% vs 76% for contingency.⁵¹¹¹⁵

Why more agencies should do this

Contingency has three fatal flaws in 2026, AI commoditisation (clients get AI sourcing themselves), zero accountability (paid only on placement), and a race to the bottom on fees.

AIRPA fixes all three, AI as a moat, alignment through skin in the game, and exclusive, embedded relationships that compound.

AI lets a 3 person agency deliver what once took 10, mid market and on demand RPO that was previously only Cielo and AMS scale is now within reach.

The math, one £80k hire at 25% contingency is £20k once. A 12 month RPO at £5k a month plus £2k across 10 hires is £80k recurring plus upside.¹¹

Risks and honest counterpoints

58% of buyers are considering switching providers, tech gaps, support quality, provider knowledge. The promise of RPO is not the same as delivering it.⁵

Only 23% of RPO relationships reach transformational, transactional ones are 42% more likely to report neutral or negative ROI. Selling RPO but delivering contingency effort damages reputation.⁵

AI makes some things harder, AI written CVs, only 14% shortlist overlap when the same AI screens twice, deepfake interviews, an AIRPA must include verification layers.⁷

Data quality and security is the top blocker to AI adoption, retained models strain SME cash flow, ease in with a contingency plus (small retainer and placement fee) step.⁴

Sources

Full cited report, outputs/raim/airpo/research/2026-08-11_rpo-market-research.md. Analyst market size figures are commercial estimates, treat as directional.

AI-Recruitment Process Automation