By Rajni Bansal 
AI voice screening is AI calling candidates and scoring their answers automatically. It runs role-specific questions over a real phone call. This glossary sorts out the 7 voice and phone screening terms agencies run into most.
See Hirin’s AI voice screening page. Or read our full guide to AI voice screening for the deep version.
Quick-reference table
| Term | In one line |
|---|---|
| AI voice screening | AI calling candidates and scoring their answers automatically |
| AI phone screening | Screening candidates over a phone call, run by AI |
| Automated phone screening | Phone screening that runs without a recruiter dialing |
| Conversational AI screening | Screening candidates through a natural, spoken AI conversation |
| AI voice interview | A voice-only interview conducted by AI, not a person |
| AI voice agent | The AI system that runs the voice conversation |
| Zena AI | Hirin’s AI voice screening agent |
AI voice screening
AI voice screening is AI calling candidates and scoring their answers automatically. It runs role-specific questions over a real phone call. See Hirin’s AI voice screening for how this works end to end.
AI phone screening
AI phone screening means screening candidates over a phone call, run by AI. It replaces a recruiter’s first-round screening call. The AI asks questions and scores each answer.
Automated phone screening
Automated phone screening is phone screening that runs without a recruiter dialing. It can call hundreds of candidates in the time one recruiter call takes. Not every automated tool uses AI to ask or score questions.
Conversational AI screening
Conversational AI screening screens candidates through a natural, spoken AI conversation. It asks follow-up questions like a real recruiter would. That makes it feel less like a scripted test.
AI voice interview
An AI voice interview is a voice-only interview conducted by AI, not a person. It covers the same ground a phone screen would. No video or in-person step is involved.
AI voice agent
An AI voice agent is the AI system that runs the voice conversation. It asks questions, listens to answers, and scores candidates in real time. Zena is Hirin’s version of this agent.
Zena AI
Zena AI is Hirin’s AI voice screening agent. She calls shortlisted candidates directly, in English or Hindi. She scores each answer on skill, salary fit, and location.
The bottom line for staffing agencies
Most of these terms describe the same core idea. AI makes a screening phone call instead of a recruiter. Voice, phone, and conversational all point at that one job.
Zena, Hirin’s AI voice screening agent, runs this call for you. She works in English or Hindi and hands you a ranked shortlist.