Cluen Invites Executive Search Firms to Participate in Upcoming 2026 Technology Trends Survey
May 20, 2026 – For more than three decades, Cluen has partnered with leading executive search firms around the world to understand how top-performing recruiters use technology to gain a competitive advantage. Each year, the company’s Top Trends in Executive Search Technology survey uncovers the strategies, priorities, and innovations shaping the future of the profession. How are executive search firms balancing the rapid adoption of AI and automation with the need to maintain the relationship-driven nature of the business?
Cluen’s upcoming 2026 Top Trends in Executive Search Technology survey examines how firms are adapting their technology strategies. What do you expect will be the biggest technology priorities for recruiters over the next year?
Which emerging technologies are having the greatest impact on recruiter productivity and the speed of identifying executive talent?
As firms invest more heavily in predictive analytics and advanced research tools, how are client expectations around data and market intelligence evolving?
What separates firms that successfully integrate new technology into their workflows from those that struggle to see measurable results?
Looking ahead, where do you see the greatest opportunities for innovation in executive search technology over the next three to five years?
As Cluen prepares the 2026 edition, they invite you to share your perspective.
The executive search industry is evolving faster than ever. Technologies once considered experimental, including artificial intelligence, workflow automation, predictive analytics, and advanced research tools, have become essential to how the most successful firms operate. Search professionals who understand and adopt these innovations will be better positioned to work more efficiently, deliver greater value to clients, and win more business. Firms that fail to keep pace risk falling behind competitors who are already using technology to source talent faster, deepen market intelligence, and strengthen client relationships.
Your input helps us identify the trends that matter most. How is your firm adapting its technology stack to better source, evaluate, and place executive talent? Which tools are delivering measurable results? Where do you see the greatest opportunities for innovation?
By completing this brief survey, you will contribute to one of the executive search industry’s most trusted annual research reports. Published each fall, Cluen’s white paper provides a data-driven look at the technologies and best practices helping firms improve productivity, enhance candidate and client experiences, and prepare for the future.
2026 Top Trends in Executive Search Technology & Leadership Consulting
As Cluen prepares its 2026 white paper on technology trends in executive search and leadership consulting, we would value your input. How are firms adapting their technology stacks to better source, evaluate, and place leadership talent?
By completing this short survey, you’ll receive early access to the findings and insights to help position your firm for what’s ahead. You’ll also be among the first to receive Cluen’s annual white paper, published later this year.
Take a few minutes to share your perspective and ensure your firm stays informed, competitive, and one step ahead.
As a thank-you for participating, you will receive complimentary access to the full report and early insight into the trends among your peers before they are widely released. In addition, your completed survey entry will qualify you for a raffle to win a pair of Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, with the winner announced in June. To enter, simply reply to marketing@cluen.com with the unique code you will receive after completing the survey. Whether you are evaluating AI tools, refining your workflows, or planning your firm’s future technology strategy, the results will provide valuable benchmarks and actionable ideas.
What Last Year’s Findings Revealed
The most recent Cluen survey found that a majority of firms are not only adopting these tools but reshaping entire business models around them. Yet with maturity comes new challenges. We all know that ChatGPT adoption has surged the last couple years. Now, it’s not just about trying AI but about integrating it into every stage of the search process. Cluen’s survey data confirms the leap in generative AI usage. It found that 73.5 percent of executive search firms reported using ChatGPT, with Microsoft Copilot (45 percent) and Google Gemini (12 percent) also gaining traction. Remarkably, only nine percent of firms said they use none of the major Large Language Models, which is down from 22 percent last year. “This signals a critical shift in mindset that AI is no longer a novelty,” the Cluen report said. “It’s becoming foundational infrastructure for executive search professionals to reach maximum potential.”
Cluen’s customers are using built-in OpenAI features in its industry-leading platform, Encore, to eliminate redundant admin work, enrich candidate insights, and even power client-facing reporting. They also extend their Cluen Encore system to their own AI tools and integrate through Cluen’s partnerships with the leading providers of executive search specific AI offerings.
Firms reported the top AI use cases as: Candidate write-ups (73 percent); employer role description writing (69 percent); business development research (55 percent); progress reporting & interview prep (34 percent +). The trend is clear: firms are moving beyond “experimenting” with AI toward integrated daily use across the search lifecycle.
To participate in Cluen’s Top Trends in Executive Search Technology survey, please click here!
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
