Ceipal + The Cognitive: AI Sourcing and Interviews for Staffing Firms
Ceipal agencies can add AI sourcing and live AI interviews today without a direct connection: export candidates from Ceipal as a CSV, upload them to The Cognitive, and invite them to a live, two-way AI video interview they book themselves. Ceipal is not one of The Cognitive's 100+ direct ATS integrations, so the scored report comes back as a read-only link you share or record in Ceipal, rather than as a note written for you. The Cognitive also finds people who never applied to your agency, across ~900M public profiles.
How does The Cognitive work with Ceipal?
- Upload: export the candidates for a job order from Ceipal and upload the CSV to a role in The Cognitive.
- Interview: invite them to a live, two-way AI video interview of 10 or 20 minutes; they book their own slot without an account, in any of 9 languages.
- Score: each interview returns a 1 to 5 score per criterion, overall written feedback, a weighted score out of 100, a suggested verdict, the transcript and the recording.
- Share: send the read-only report link (scores, feedback and recording) to the account manager or client, and record the decision in Ceipal.
- Per-program rubrics: each client program gets its own role and rubric in The Cognitive, so evaluation stays consistent across portals.
- Nothing is rejected automatically: every decision stays with your recruiters in Ceipal.
The Cognitive in a Ceipal agency
Ceipal sells a "Global ATS + Vendor Management System (VMS) with AI Matching" to staffing agencies and MSPs. The Cognitive adds the 2 things a VMS-fed req is short of: candidates from outside the agency's own database, and a first-round interview scored on one rubric no matter which client portal sent the req.
Agencies usually set up one role per client program in The Cognitive, so each program keeps its own rubric, and upload that program's candidates as a CSV exported from Ceipal.
Reqs arriving through VMS portals come with different client expectations but the same deadline. The Cognitive standardises the part the agency controls: every candidate for a role gets the same rubric, with questions that adapt to their answers, while a separate role per program keeps each client's criteria apart. The recruiter shares the read-only report link with the account manager, and the submission decision is recorded in Ceipal as usual.
How do Ceipal agencies source candidates who are not in their database?
An agency database only holds people who applied to you or were added by a recruiter. Sourcing is the outbound half: finding people who have not applied, checking they fit the order, revealing contact details and starting the conversation.
The Cognitive does that from a brief written in plain English. It searches ~900M public profiles, judges every person against the must-haves in the brief (anyone who misses one drops below the people who meet them), and opens each result card with a "Why this match" line taken from the profile. Each person a search shows costs 1 credit; a verified email costs 4 credits and a phone number 12, charged only when a value comes back. Email sequences run from Sourcing Pro up, from your own mailbox, and a reply stops the sequence.
Requisitions arriving through VMS portals arrive with a deadline attached, so sourcing has to start the same hour the req does. A separate role per client program keeps each client's brief and candidate pool apart, the people found stay in that role's pool for the next req from the same program, and the recruiter adds the ones they submit to Ceipal.
Where each step lives when Ceipal and The Cognitive work side by side
| Step | What happens | Where the record ends up |
|---|---|---|
| Source | A plain-English brief runs across ~900M public profiles; each card says why the person matched | Role pool in The Cognitive |
| Reveal | Verified emails (4 credits) and phone numbers (12 credits), enriched from 30+ sources, charged only when a value comes back | The candidate's profile in The Cognitive |
| Outreach | Email sequences (Sourcing Pro and up), sent from your own mailbox | The Cognitive |
| Upload | Candidates exported from Ceipal arrive as a CSV | Ceipal keeps the original record |
| Interview | Live, two-way AI video interview; fixed rubric, questions that adapt to each answer | Report in The Cognitive |
| Submit and place | Read-only report link shared with the account manager or client | Ceipal, which stays the system of record |
Is there a direct Ceipal integration?
Not today. The Cognitive's direct ATS integrations cover 60+ systems through one integration, including staffing systems such as Bullhorn, JobDiva, JobAdder, Crelate and Recruiterflow, and Ceipal is not on that list. CSV upload works with any system that can export candidates, which Ceipal can, so the interview and sourcing side runs the same way. If your agency also runs one of the connected systems, imports and note write-back work directly through it.
Why Ceipal agencies add The Cognitive
Ceipal runs the agency: orders, candidates, submittals and placements. It doesn't go out and find people who never applied, and it doesn't hold a first-round interview for every candidate. The Cognitive does both, so recruiters spend their hours on the candidates worth submitting. AI Sourcing and AI Interview each start at $99/month, on monthly plans you can cancel anytime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does The Cognitive integrate with Ceipal?
Not directly. Ceipal is not one of The Cognitive's 100+ direct ATS integrations, so you export candidates from Ceipal, upload them as a CSV, and share the read-only interview report link back. The interview and sourcing work the same way as with a connected ATS.
What is the best AI interview tool for Ceipal users?
The Cognitive is built for it: a live, two-way AI video interview of 10 or 20 minutes, booked by the candidate without an account, scored 1 to 5 on each criterion of a rubric you set, with a weighted score out of 100, overall written feedback, the transcript and the recording. It works alongside Ceipal through CSV upload, and it also sources candidates across ~900M public profiles.
Can The Cognitive find candidates who are not in Ceipal?
Yes. The Cognitive searches ~900M public profiles from a plain-English brief, judges each person against your must-haves and explains every match in one line. Verified personal emails cost 4 credits and phone numbers 12, charged only when a value comes back, and sourced people stay in The Cognitive's role pool until you add the ones you submit to Ceipal.
How do I get Ceipal candidates into The Cognitive?
Export the candidates for a job order from Ceipal as a CSV and upload it to a role in The Cognitive. Then invite them to the AI interview in one go; each candidate books their own slot.
How do interview results get back into Ceipal?
Each interview has a read-only report link carrying the scores, written feedback and recording. Recruiters add the link or the decision to the candidate in Ceipal; The Cognitive does not write into Ceipal directly.
How much does it cost?
AI Sourcing and AI Interview each start at $99/month, on monthly plans you can cancel anytime. Sourcing is charged in credits: 1 per candidate a search returns, 4 for a verified personal email and 12 for a phone number, only when a value comes back.
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