The Business Design Centre in London came alive with in-house recruitment professionals, innovators, and thought leaders at IHR Live London 2025.
Sponsor at Booth 57, YOONO was thrilled to take part, hear from the community, and contribute our voice to the most pressing debates in talent acquisition today.
In this post, we share highlights, emerging themes, and what we learned (and gave) at the event.
Highlights from the floor & key conversations
1. Strong turnout, continuous curiosity
With over 1,000 attendees and a dense program across multiple stages, IHR Live London reaffirmed its place as a must-attend event for in-house recruitment teams. The breadth of sessions; from AI risk to employer branding to candidate experience; meant there was always something to learn, and always someone to connect with.
We found ourselves in constant conversation at the booth, particularly about:
How important the role of social screening, digital footprint analysis and general candidate background checks/verification has become
How to make AI work within legal and ethical boundaries
Ways to retain human oversight in automated or semi-automated workflows
The challenges of implementing reputation checks into existing hiring systems, especially balancing speed, thoroughness, and candidate experience
Practical expectations: What AI can really do today (and what’s hype)
2. Trends & hot topics that stole the show
Here are a few themes that rose above the noise:
Hiring in the age of AI: Real Risks, Smart Moves: This session unpacked common pitfalls (data use, bias, opacity) and best practices. It reinforced how crucial compliance and transparency are in deploying AI.
An actionable blueprint for tackling bias in recruitment: Bias remains a top concern, especially as AI is adopted more broadly. We saw demand from recruiters for tools that help assess reputational data fairly.
AI-powered hiring: Faster, smarter, more human than ever: A bold promise, and one that asks: how do you preserve the human touch? We engaged attendees in candid demos of YOONO and how it complements, not replaces, recruiter judgment.
Cracking the code: TA metrics that drive real transformation: Many recruiters are still seeking clarity on which metrics truly matter. We heard that attribution, quality of hire, time to insight, and risk mitigation are top priorities.
The trust factor: How to build confidence into the candidate journey: In a climate of heightened data awareness, trust is non-negotiable. Aligning data use, transparency, and narrative was a recurring theme in conversations we had.
Beyond sessions, the Innovation Showcase and workshops were buzzing. We saw interesting adjacent tools (assessment platforms, talent marketplaces, branding tech) pushing the ecosystem forward.
3. YOONO on the ground: Stories from Booth 57
We had a blast. The Tornado Ball Grabber challenge drew in visitors more than once, folks would say, “Just one more try…” In between laughs and small competitions, we also had high-value conversations about their internal processes for background checks, compliance, risk, and what recruiters really need.
Several good moments stood out:
Recruiters sharing how they rarely found tools that effectively balance insight with legality
Teams seeing YOONO run in real time and realising how much time they could recover
Comments on how the whitepaper “The Legal Landscape of AI in Recruitment” was one of the most requested takeaways of the day
A real rise in the challenge of ‘Candidate Authenticity’ - are they really who they say they are
4. YOONO panel discussion
A packed audience overflowing with energy and questions greeted James Clark our Chief Legal Officer for what feels like the industries hottest topic: “The AI in TA Gamble: Bold Futureproof Strategy or Legal Disaster?”
It was filled with great discussion, here were the top takeaways:
Don’t get drawn in by the hype - your tech stack isn’t to impress your stakeholders it’s to solve real problems for your business
Ask vendors the hard questions. As a business you are the one assume the risk, therefore it’s critical to put pressure on your vendors to be crystal clear on risk, autonomy, ethics and how they’re handling it.
Don't make compliance an afterthought - Involve your teams from the start when incorporating AI into your business, rather than consulting them at the end. Build a collaborative framework that balances innovation with risk management. Ensure staff receive proper training on using AI tools effectively and responsibly.
Reflections & next steps
Attending and sponsoring IHR Live London gave us fresh perspectives. Here are a few reflections we’re taking forward:
Businesses need to be on the front foot: being compliant is not enough, with an ever evolving legislation landscape.
Clarity over buzz: Many recruiters remain cautious, not because they dislike AI, but because they don’t yet see clear guardrails. Tools that claim to leverage AI need to show exactly how they handle data, bias, auditability, and transparency.
Human + AI collaboration is the sweet spot: The best outcomes come when AI augments recruiter judgment—not replaces it.
Education is mission-critical: Writing whitepapers, holding panels, and making time for Q&A aren’t extras—they’re essential for adoption with trust within TA teams.
The conversation continues: Risk, regulation, worker rights, privacy—these aren’t solved topics. They’re evolving. And we need the recruitment community’s input and skepticism as much as its ambition.
At YOONO, we’re already turning the conversations from the day into improvements and updates. We’ll be listening, iterating, and aiming to make our platform not only powerful—but principled.
We’re committed to providing a solution that is not technology for technology’s sake. It’s built to address clear pain points in the recruitment process lifecyle.
Want to continue the conversation?
If you visited our booth or caught one of our demos and want to dig deeper:
Request a one-on-one demo or meeting by emailing hello@yoono.ai
Download the whitepaper “The Legal Landscape of AI in Recruitment” (if you missed it)
Stay tuned — we’ll share more about new features, updates, and the next events where you can meet us
Thank you to everyone who stopped by, asked a tough question, challenged us, and shared their ambitions. We left energised, challenged, and more committed than ever to continue enhancing our AI-powered research platform that helps recruiters/TAs make smarter, faster candidate evaluations with comprehensive reputation checks.
Let’s keep shaping the future—together.