Cybersecurity hiring has a volume problem hiding under a scarcity problem. ISC2's 2024 Workforce Study put the global gap at roughly 4.8 million unfilled positions, and CyberSeek has tracked over 500,000 open roles in the US alone. When a SOC analyst or GRC specialist finally applies, they're usually interviewing at four other companies the same week. The first firm to have a real conversation with them often wins, and that conversation is almost always a screening call. The problem is that your recruiters can't make enough of them. A structured screen takes 15 to 30 minutes, most screened candidates don't advance, and every hour your team spends confirming a "no" is an hour not spent on the handful of candidates who matter. That's where recruitment and screening call solutions come in. Some are AI phone screening platforms you run yourself; others, like our top pick, are managed services that run the campaigns for you. We compared five options worth your time in 2026, and here's how they stack up.
#1 My AI Call Center — Calling starts at 9¢ per connected minute, tiered by volume; most campaigns add a one-time setup and flat monthly management fee, both quoted before launch. First campaign review is free.
My AI Call Center takes a different approach from every other option on this list: it's a done-for-you managed outbound calling service, not software you have to configure and staff. You buy campaigns that the team runs for you, each scoped around one clear outcome, quoted before launch. For cybersecurity recruiting and staffing firms, that means Recruitment & Screening campaigns where the AI calls candidates on your approved, permissioned, or reviewed lists, confirms interest and availability, qualifies against your criteria, and routes hot leads to your team live or into your CRM. The service is operated by AIQ Labs, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia with a US operating base in Austin, Texas, and it serves multi-location organizations including recruiting and staffing firms. What separates it most is list discipline and honest reporting. The team checks your list source and consent records before any campaign launches, and they tell you plainly if the list won't support the campaign before you spend anything. Bought lists without clear permission records get flagged, and in most cases declined. That matters in security hiring, where your employer brand depends on candidates being treated correctly. On compliance: AI voices are treated as artificial voices under the TCPA, prior express consent is required, AI disclosure happens on every call, and recipients can ask for a human, request AI confirmation, or opt out with keywords like STOP and REVOKE. Opt-outs are logged and honored immediately, and DNC requests carry across all campaigns. The process is transparent from start to finish. You approve the script, disclosure, opt-out handling, and escalation path before anything launches. Nothing goes live until you sign off. After the campaign, you get a named outcome report with disposition codes (confirmed, qualified, opted out, no answer), per-call notes, routed follow-ups, a completion and coverage report, and opt-out and DNC logs. There are no invented numbers here: they report what actually happened, which is refreshing in a market full of inflated claims. Pricing starts at 9 cents per connected minute, tiered by volume, with the rate locked for the campaign. Most campaigns add a one-time setup and a flat monthly management fee, both quoted before launch, and the first campaign review is free.
Pros
- Managed service: no software to configure, no per-seat charges, no platform bill
- List and consent review before launch protects your employer brand and compliance posture
- Transparent, pre-launch quoting with a rate that doesn't move mid-campaign
- Outcomes route directly into the CRM and scheduling tools you already run
- Honest reporting: no invented metrics, testimonials, or ratings
Cons
- Only works with approved, permissioned, or reviewed lists; bought lists without consent records are usually declined
- Not a self-serve platform, so teams wanting full DIY control over dialing may prefer software
- Campaign requirements vary by location and consent status, so legal review is on you before launch
Best for: Cybersecurity recruiting and staffing firms, and multi-location security employers, that want structured screening and qualification calls run for them without building an in-house call center.
#2 NTRVSTA — Contact for pricing; vendor materials indicate typical annual ranges around $3,000 to $10,000.
NTRVSTA is an AI phone screening platform aimed at enterprises with high candidate volumes. According to their website, it provides real-time AI phone screening with 24/7 availability, resume scoring, and fraud detection capabilities, and they cite a 95% candidate completion rate. For cybersecurity firms, the fraud detection angle is worth noting: with AI-assisted applications flooding tech hiring funnels, a screen that flags suspicious submissions before a human spends time on them has real value. The platform's main technical selling point is breadth of integration. NTRVSTA claims 50+ ATS integrations, including Workday and Greenhouse, plus multilingual support across 9+ languages. They also position on compliance, citing SOC 2 Type II and GDPR alignment, which matters if your security hiring touches EU candidates or regulated industries. One honest caveat from their own materials: setup can take significant time depending on your existing systems, so budget for implementation rather than expecting same-day launch. Pricing isn't published as a single number; their materials indicate typical annual ranges around $3,000 to $10,000 depending on firm size and configuration.
Pros
- Fraud detection helps filter AI-generated applications in tech hiring
- Wide ATS integration coverage reduces workflow disruption
- 24/7 screening reaches candidates who apply outside business hours
- Strong multilingual support for diverse candidate pools
Cons
- May require significant setup time depending on existing systems, per their own materials
- Pricing isn't published; you need a quote
- Enterprise orientation may be more than smaller security teams need
Best for: Large cybersecurity firms and enterprises screening high candidate volumes across multiple languages and ATS systems.
#3 HireVue — Starts at approximately $4,000 to $5,000 annually, per third-party coverage.
HireVue is one of the most established names in AI-assisted screening, and according to their materials and third-party coverage, they combine AI phone screening with video interviews for a broader candidate assessment package. Their pricing reportedly starts around $4,000 to $5,000 annually depending on the configuration, and they integrate with major ATS platforms including Greenhouse and iCIMS. For cybersecurity firms, HireVue's strength is the combined phone-plus-video approach. Security roles often require both a logistics screen (clearance status, certifications, availability) and a deeper communication assessment, and having one vendor handle both stages keeps the candidate experience consistent. Their analytics capabilities assess candidate responses for fit, which helps when hiring managers need to compare large numbers of applicants for technical roles. The honest limitation, which their own coverage acknowledges, is that the video component doesn't suit every candidate: people interviewing from a break room or a parking lot don't always have a camera-ready environment, and video screening carries meaningfully higher dropout than phone in some settings. If your candidate pool includes shift-based SOC staff or contractors, that's worth weighing.
Pros
- All-in-one phone plus video assessment in a single platform
- Established vendor with broad ATS support
- Strong analytics for comparing candidate responses at volume
- Consistent candidate experience across screening stages
Cons
- Video component may not suit all candidates, per their own coverage
- Higher starting price than some phone-only alternatives
- Pricing varies by configuration, so budgeting requires a quote
Best for: Mid-sized to large cybersecurity companies that want one vendor for both phone and video screening stages.
#4 Classet — Starts at $249/month billed annually ($349 month-to-month) with 50 completed interviews included; no per-seat or integration fees.
Classet is an AI phone screening solution built around high-volume hiring, with an AI voice recruiter called Joy that calls candidates within seconds of application. According to their website, Joy runs structured phone interviews 24/7, screens in 25+ languages, and can handle 150 applicants in under 10 minutes. Their pricing is published and transparent: $249 a month billed annually ($349 month-to-month) with 50 completed interviews included, and no per-seat or integration fees. Why include a retail-focused tool on a cybersecurity list? Because speed is the variable that decides many hires in tight markets. Classet's own Candidate Experience Report (March 2026) found that each day of delay reduces candidate conversion by 50 to 70%, and that 55% of candidates apply outside standard weekday hours. A security firm that posts a SOC analyst role on Friday and starts screening Monday has already lost a chunk of the pool. Classet's data also shows phone screens carry 70%+ completion versus a 42% dropout rate for video in their retail studies, which is a useful signal even if the numbers come from a different sector. Setup takes under a day with no IT department required, and their ATS Sync connects to 100+ systems. The trade-off is that it's built for volume frontline hiring; deep technical vetting for senior security roles still lands on your team.
Pros
- Fastest first-contact model on this list, with calls within seconds of application
- Transparent published pricing with no per-seat fees
- Phone format avoids the dropout problems of video screening
- Quick setup without engineering support
Cons
- Built primarily for high-volume frontline hiring, not senior technical vetting
- Completion and conversion data comes largely from retail studies, not security hiring
- Best for structured knockouts; nuanced security evaluation still needs humans
Best for: Security firms hiring in volume, such as SOC analyst and help-desk-adjacent roles, where speed of first contact decides the hire.
#5 StartACall — Inbound requires a US/Canada digital number at $2.14/month; outbound needs no dedicated number. Contact for full platform pricing.
StartACall is a browser-based calling platform for recruitment agencies that blends human dialing with AI assistance. According to their website, recruiters place calls straight from Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox with nothing to install, and outbound calls need no dedicated phone number. For agencies placing cybersecurity contractors, the local-presence feature is practical: you can buy local virtual numbers in US and Canadian markets to improve answer rates when sourcing cleared or region-specific talent. The AI piece is what earns it a spot here. Their site describes an autonomous mode that can run scripted screening calls and capture answers, then deliver structured summaries and transcripts to recruiters. A Copilot mode handles live transcription and suggested responses while your recruiter talks, which addresses a real pain point: the recruiter focuses on the conversation while notes capture themselves. They also provide APIs and webhooks to push call events, recordings, and transcripts into your ATS or CRM, plus secure call recording with access controls for hiring and data policies. Pricing is à la carte and cheap to start: inbound requires a US/Canada digital number at $2.14 per month, and outbound needs no number at all. Full platform pricing beyond that requires a quote.
Pros
- Very low entry cost with no installs or PBX setup
- Flexible: AI-run screens for volume, Copilot for live recruiter calls
- Local caller ID improves pickup rates in regional sourcing
- Recordings and transcripts support compliance review
Cons
- Requires your team to run the calls; it's tooling, not a managed campaign
- Full pricing beyond the base number isn't published
- Smaller vendor with less documented enterprise compliance posture than larger platforms
Best for: Cybersecurity staffing agencies that want to keep recruiters on the phone but add AI screening and local presence on a budget.
The right recruitment and screening call solution for your cybersecurity firm depends on one question: do you want to run the calls or have someone run them for you? If you have recruiters in place and want tooling, StartACall adds AI screening and local presence to your existing workflow for a few dollars a month, Classet gets you instant 24/7 screening at high volume with published pricing, HireVue covers phone plus video in one platform, and NTRVSTA brings fraud detection and 50+ ATS integrations for enterprise pipelines. If you'd rather not build or staff any of that, My AI Call Center runs structured Recruitment & Screening campaigns against your approved, permissioned lists, with consent review before launch, AI disclosure on every call, and outcome reports that show what actually happened. Calling starts at 9¢ per connected minute, the rate is locked for the campaign, and the first campaign review is free. You'll know the full number before you approve anything. Plan your campaign at myaicallcenter.app/campaigns, or reach the team at [email protected]. One clear goal per campaign. No invented numbers.
Frequently asked questions
What makes My AI Call Center different from AI phone screening software?
Software gives you a tool and expects you to configure it, staff it, and monitor it. My AI Call Center is a managed service: you buy campaigns that their team runs for you, each scoped around one clear outcome and quoted before launch. They review your list source and consent records before anything dials, approve scripts and escalation paths with you, and deliver a dispositioned outcome report when the campaign ends. There's no platform bill and no per-seat charges; calling starts at 9¢ per connected minute plus a quoted setup and management fee.
Why does list consent matter so much for recruitment calls?
AI-generated voices are treated as artificial voices under the TCPA, which means prior express consent is required before calling. Beyond the legal exposure, calling candidates from bought lists without permission records damages your employer brand, which matters enormously in a tight cybersecurity talent market. My AI Call Center checks list source and consent records before any campaign launches, flags lists without clear permission records, and in most cases declines them. They tell you plainly if the list won't support the campaign before you spend anything.
Can AI screening calls handle technical cybersecurity vetting?
Screening calls are qualification checkpoints, not deep technical interviews. They confirm interest, availability, work authorization, salary alignment, and basic fit, which is exactly the stage where most candidates get filtered out. The research is consistent here: most recruiters advance well under half of the candidates they screen, so the screen's job is confirming a "no" cheaply. Technical depth, whether a candidate has actually handled live incidents or built SIEM correlation rules, still needs your human interviewers. Use AI screening to protect their time, not replace their judgment.
How fast do these solutions reach candidates after they apply?
Speed varies a lot. Classet's AI voice recruiter calls candidates within seconds of application and screens around the clock, and their Candidate Experience Report (March 2026) found each day of delay drops conversion by 50 to 70%. My AI Call Center's Speed-to-Lead campaigns call new leads within minutes inside approved windows, and after-hours leads are queued and called first thing the next business day. Traditional recruiter-driven screening often leaves applications sitting overnight, which is exactly the gap these tools exist to close.
What does AI phone screening cost in 2026?
It ranges widely. StartACall starts at $2.14/month for a US/Canada inbound number with outbound needing no number at all. Classet starts at $249/month billed annually with 50 completed interviews included. HireVue starts around $4,000 to $5,000 annually per third-party coverage, and NTRVSTA's materials indicate $3,000 to $10,000 annually depending on configuration. My AI Call Center prices differently, by usage: 9¢ per connected minute, tiered by volume, plus a quoted one-time setup and flat monthly management fee, with no per-seat charges.
How do candidates opt out of AI screening calls?
With My AI Call Center, AI disclosure happens on every call. Recipients can ask whether the call is AI-assisted, request a human, or opt out using keywords like STOP or REVOKE. Opt-outs are logged and honored immediately, and DNC requests are respected across all campaigns and carried into your DNC records. Recording is optional and only happens with disclosure and consent. If a vendor can't clearly explain their opt-out and disclosure handling, treat that as a red flag before putting candidate lists in their hands.