NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS, Oct. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PageUp, a global leader in talent acquisition software, today announced that it will launch its latest innovation, Candidate Agent, at this week’s HR Tech 2026 in Las Vegas. Candidate Agent is the candidate-side counterpart to Paige, PageUp's recruiter-facing agent, recently named a 2026 Top HR Product of the Year by HR Tech and HR Executive.
Hiring teams are receiving more applications than ever and finding fewer of them usable. Candidate Agent helps candidates work out whether a role genuinely fits before they apply, which reduces application volume while routing high-fit candidates to recruiters faster.
Built into PageUp Clinch and able to connect to any ATS, Candidate Agent transforms the career site from a static destination into an authentic communication channel. Candidate Agent combines an employer’s career content, brand, and employee-generated insights to answer candidate questions in context, delivering clearer answers, greater transparency and a more authentic view of the employee experience.
Candidate Agent also surfaces transferable skills a jobseeker may not have thought to mention, points them toward roles they would never have searched for, and explains in plain language why a role is a match and what happens next. When an application stalls, high-fit candidates are automatically nudged to continue, and recruiters can proactively connect with key talent for hard-to-fill roles.
PageUp is launching Candidate Agent with three candidate-first principles in mind:
- ATS neutrality: Candidate Agent is embedded in the PageUp talent acquisition suite or overlays onto any existing enterprise ATS, keeping records where they live today while the rest of the candidate experience gets an upgrade.
- AI explainability: Candidate Agent makes AI-driven hiring interactions easy to understand for the applicant, offering plain-language explanations of relevant opportunities, application status, next steps and other key steps in the journey.
- Authentic brand engagement: Through the Employee Connections module, Candidate Agent draws on real employee stories and EVP content rather than generic chatbot responses, answering the question candidates care about most: what is it actually like to work here?
“More applications have never meant better hiring. What teams actually need is fewer, better-matched people arriving at the top of the funnel, and candidates who understand why they're a fit. Candidate Agent is built to deliver both at once,” said Eric Lochner, CEO of PageUp. “This is the product I've been most excited to put in front of customers, because it's the first time we've built something that genuinely serves both sides of the hire. And it shows up in the work. Recruiters spend less time screening people who were never right, and hiring managers get a shortlist they can actually act on.”
Candidate Agent will be unveiled as an early-access preview in Booth No. 3114 at HR Tech 2026. PageUp will demonstrate the award-winning Paige alongside Candidate Agent, showing how the two experiences enhance different sides of the recruiting journey.
For more details about PageUp’s Candidate Agent, visit pageuppeople.com/candidate-ai.
About PageUp
PageUp believes the most powerful talent acquisition technology is built on one simple principle: human connection. As the chosen talent acquisition partner for the world's most trusted brands, PageUp delivers a world-class customer experience by building deep, lasting partnerships. This commitment is reflected in PageUp’s intelligent talent acquisition platform, an intuitive, AI-powered system that’s easy to use, adaptable to your unique hiring needs and always innovating. We strip away complexity so talent teams can focus on what matters—creating the strong, human connections that forge a resilient workforce.
For more information, visit www.pageuppeople.com.
