Recruiting Bot — Setup & How It Works

What Is the Recruiting Bot?

The Recruiting Bot lets you deploy an AI assistant on your careers page or anywhere on your site to help job seekers find open positions, get answers about your company and roles, and submit their contact information to your recruiting team — all automatically, 24/7.

Instead of a static job listing page, candidates have a real conversation: they describe what they're looking for, the bot surfaces matching openings with links, answers questions about the role and company culture, and collects their details so a recruiter can follow up.

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How It Works — The Full Picture

Step 1: Job Listings Are Synced Into Velaro

The bot does not query your ATS or careers site in real time during a conversation. Instead, Velaro periodically imports your job listings into its own database so the bot can answer questions instantly and reliably.

You configure a jobs feed URL — this is a URL that returns your current open positions. Velaro reads from it on-demand (Sync Now button) or automatically on a schedule. The synced jobs appear in the Job Listings tab where you can review and manage them.

This architecture means:

• The bot is fast — it queries Velaro's copy, not your ATS
• Your ATS is never overloaded with bot traffic
• The bot works even if your ATS has downtime
• You always see exactly what the bot knows

Step 2: Candidate Has a Conversation

When a visitor starts a chat, the bot:

1. Greets them and asks what kind of role they're looking for

2. Searches your synced job listings and presents matches with direct apply links

3. Answers questions about the company, role, culture, benefits, and process

4. Collects: name, email, phone, work authorization status, availability, and any notes

5. Confirms their interest and tells them a recruiter will follow up

Step 3: Recruiter Gets Notified

When a candidate submits their information, Velaro sends a summary email to your configured recruiter address with all collected details and a link to the full conversation transcript.

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Three Ways to Connect Your Jobs

Method 1: Public XML or JSON Feed (Recommended — No Credentials Required)

Most applicant tracking systems and career site platforms publish a public jobs feed for search engines and job boards like Indeed and Google Jobs. This is the easiest setup.

How to find your feed URL:

• Look for a link on your careers site labeled "XML Feed", "Job Feed", or "Sitemap"
• Check yourcompany.com/jobs.xml, yourcompany.com/sitemap.xml, or yourcompany.com/careers/feed
• Ask your ATS vendor for the "job board syndication URL" or "Indeed XML feed URL"

Supported formats:

• RSS 2.0 / Atom feeds
• Google for Jobs XML (common for SuccessFactors, iCIMS, Greenhouse career sites)
• Indeed XML format
• Any JSON array of job objects with title, location, and URL fields

ATS-specific public feed examples:

ATS	Typical Public Feed URL Pattern
SAP SuccessFactors	https://careers.yourcompany.com/sitemap.xml (branded career site)
Workday	https://yourcompany.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/careers (Velaro auto-detects)
Greenhouse	https://boards.greenhouse.io/yourcompany/jobs.json
Lever	https://api.lever.co/v0/postings/yourcompany?mode=json
iCIMS	https://careers.yourcompany.com/jobs/feed.rss
SmartRecruiters	https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/yourcompany.json

Set Feed Format to Auto-detect and Velaro will determine the format automatically.

Method 2: Private ATS API (Full Integration)

For deeper integration, you can connect directly to your ATS's private API. This gives Velaro access to all requisition details, not just what's published publicly.

Supported private APIs:

• SAP SuccessFactors OData v4 — requires a service account API key from your SF admin
• Workday REST API — requires an Integration System User credential
• Generic OAuth JSON feed — any API that returns job data with an API key header

When using a private API, your credentials are stored securely in Velaro and used only for the scheduled sync job. They are never exposed in bot conversations or logs.

Method 3: Manual Job Listings (No ATS Required)

If you don't have an ATS or prefer to manage listings manually, you can enter job postings directly in Velaro:

1. Go to Integrations → Recruiting Bot → Job Listings tab

2. Jobs added here are immediately available to the bot

3. No sync required — the bot reads them directly

This is ideal for small teams, occasional hiring, or when you want the bot to focus on a curated subset of your open roles.

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What the Bot Knows (and Doesn't Know)

The bot knows:

• All synced job listings (title, location, department, description, apply link)
• Your company name and description (what you enter in the Setup tab)
• General hiring process information (based on your company description)

The bot does not know:

• Real-time ATS data (interview stages, candidate pipeline status)
• Specific salary ranges (unless included in your job descriptions)
• Internal HR policies not included in your company description

To give the bot more knowledge: Add detail to the Company Description field in Setup. The more context you provide about culture, benefits, growth opportunities, and what makes your company a great place to work, the better the bot performs at encouraging and informing candidates.

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Setting Up the Bot Conversation Flow

After configuring your jobs feed, use the Bot Wizard to create the conversation workflow:

1. Click Launch Bot Wizard in the Recruiting Bot settings

2. Choose a template:

- Candidate Intake Bot — Full flow: greet, search, pitch company, collect info, notify recruiter

- Job Search Bot — Fast flow: search jobs, surface links, optional email capture

3. The wizard auto-fills the starter prompt with your company name and description

4. Name your workflow and click Create

5. Assign the workflow to a bot in Bots → AI Configuration

6. Deploy the bot to your careers page using a chat button from Deployments

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Keeping Jobs Up to Date

Manual sync: Click Sync Now in the Job Listings tab any time you want to refresh immediately.

What happens on sync:

• New jobs in the feed are added to Velaro's database
• Existing jobs with changed details are updated
• Jobs removed from the feed are marked inactive (the bot stops surfacing them)
• The sync is safe to run at any time — it never duplicates listings

Sync frequency recommendation:

• High-volume hiring (100+ roles): sync daily or more frequently
• Standard hiring: sync when you know your ATS has been updated
• The Job Listings tab shows "Last Sync" time so you always know how fresh the data is

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Activity Log

The Activity Log tab records every sync operation, including how many jobs were added, updated, or removed, and any errors encountered. Use this to troubleshoot feed connection issues or verify that a sync ran successfully.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can the bot apply on behalf of the candidate?

No. The bot collects candidate information and sends it to your recruiter. The actual application is submitted through your ATS via the apply link. This keeps your ATS as the system of record and ensures compliance with your existing hiring process.

Does the bot work in multiple languages?

Yes. If Velaro's chat translation feature is enabled on your account, the bot can converse with candidates in their preferred language. Job listings are displayed in the language they were synced in.

Can I use the bot without a careers page?

Yes. You can deploy the recruiting bot on any page — a homepage, a "Work With Us" landing page, or even share the chat link directly in a job posting. The bot works wherever Velaro chat is deployed.

What happens if my jobs feed is temporarily unavailable?

Velaro keeps the last successfully synced job listings active. The bot continues to function using the cached data until the next successful sync.

Can I restrict the bot to specific job categories or locations?

Not automatically in v1 — the bot can search within the synced listings by location and department, but it syncs all active listings from your feed. To limit scope, use a feed URL that only returns the roles you want the bot to know about, or use manual listings to enter only the specific roles you want featured.