Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the way human resources firms do background verification and onboarding. Several companies now use AI-powered solutions to verify employee credentials, conduct background checks, and streamline pre-onboarding procedures.
Amit Rahane, partner, EY Forensic and Integrity Services, said, “Document Authenticator is one of our marquee assets that helps organisations identify document forgeries by tracking perpetrators. It can detect timelines of forgery, false signatures, doctored company logos, and more—all in real time.”
AI’s growing role in hiring and verification is driven by both efficiency and rising digital fraud. Jyothis K S, co-founder of Zappyhire, said AI tools are being used for facial recognition and to fetch verified academic data through APIs linked to India’s digital ecosystem. “It’s especially useful now, with the rise of services that help candidates cheat during interviews,” he added.
Manohar Javvaji, co-founder of Impacteers, said his firm uses AI chatbots for simple background checks. “I once verified the details of a new board member through an AI chatbot. It searched the web and returned complete details within minutes,” he said.
Major Vibhav Kapoor (Retd), founder and CEO of Vibrant Screen, said AI has reduced verification turnaround time from a month to a few hours. “With Agentic AI, verification will soon be instant. We already run checks across global databases, UAN, and ID verification before interviews,” he said. The company is also developing a machine learning tool for education verification.
Dhana Shekar, COO of Vibrant Screen, added that AI helps companies recruit the right candidates faster and more accurately. “We are using AI to authenticate documents, cutting onboarding timelines significantly,” he said.
Digital tools boost verification
Platforms like DigiLocker have become central to AI-led verification. The University Grants Commission now uploads academic certificates to the National Academic Depository within DigiLocker, while the UMANG app offers citizens a unified interface for digital governance services.
“DigiLocker is emerging as the trusted base for background checks due to its authenticity and secure data exchange,” said Jyothis.
Rahane added that AI-powered verification is expected to replace traditional background checks, handling up to 85% of the process. “Most companies now prefer technology-based checks, which cost only a few hundred to a few thousand rupees depending on timelines,” he said.