More than half of the top 100 recruiters in the UK are not prepared for Google’s new job search service, Google for Jobs, which is about to launch in the US before being rolled out in the UK, I-COM warns.

The Manchester digital marketing agency surveyed the websites of 100 of the country’s largest recruitment firms. It found that only 47 had implemented the required ‘Schema’ formatting that Google uses to interpret web-page information for its user personalised services. This will mean that more than half of the country’s leading recruiters will not benefit from being shown in personalised search results when Google for Jobs launches in the UK.

Mike Blackburn, managing director at I-COM, says: “Google for Jobs has the potential, and objective, to change the way candidates search for new roles, so it’s alarming that so few agencies are ready to take advantage of the opportunity it offers. It could be the biggest disrupter the industry has seen since use of the internet for job hunting became the norm. “The platform could ultimately change the recruitment eco-system, eliminating the need for job-boards, so I’d urge recruiters to ensure they are part of this change and leading the way, rather than playing catch-up.”

Google for Jobs will be driven by an artificial intelligence platform and deliver personalised job posts direct to web searchers, drawing on the personal data Google collects from the internet. Information from browsing and location history, previous searches and online document storage could all be used to form a picture of of the job hunter and deliver bespoke job opportunities that match their experience and aspirations. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, announced the new service at the company’s annual I/O conference in California saying: “Google for Jobs is our commitment to use our products to help people find work. No matter who you are or what kind of job you’re looking for you will find the job postings that are right for you.”