The same information for the whole team
Every conversation ends up in the candidate's file. As a result, every colleague can see what was agreed, even when the recruiter responsible is away.
LiveCreated for
AI WhatsApp summaries
AI summarises every WhatsApp conversation between a recruiter and a candidate, so the whole team sees what was agreed.
- Role
- Designed and built from start to finish
- Period
- April – August 2026
What it is
Derec is a Dutch staffing agency. Its recruiters find work for candidates and keep in touch with them on WhatsApp, on their own phones. I built a solution in which AI automatically writes a short summary of every conversation and saves it in the candidate's file, in the recruitment system the whole company works in.
AAidenWhatsApp
Are you available from week 32?Yes, mornings work best for me.I'll send you two schools this week.
Aiden's fileIn the recruitment systemAvailable to the whole team
WhatsApp conversationFinished
Available from week 32Available from week 32, mornings preferred. Asked about travel distance to Alphen; two schools to follow this week.
What it improves
Nothing to type up by hand
AI writes the summary and saves it itself. After a conversation a recruiter has nothing left to do, and every conversation is recorded in the same way.
Recruiters work the way they are used to
Recruiters keep the same phone, the same app and the same number. Nobody has to learn a new tool.
The problem
BEFORE
Every agreement was on one phone
A recruiter and a candidate agree on a lot in a chat: when someone can start, which work suits them and what still has to be sent. That information existed only in the recruiter's own WhatsApp, and only reached the recruitment system if the recruiter typed it all up afterwards. As a result, a colleague who took over the candidate could not see what had been agreed.
THE USUAL SOLUTION
Why not a shared inbox
The usual solution is a shared inbox: one program in which the whole team handles WhatsApp together. To use it, recruiters have to swap the app they like working with for a different one, and then it is unlikely to be used in practice. The starting point was therefore a solution that does not require anyone to change the way they work.
The solution
THE NUMBER
Connect the phone number
The number a recruiter already uses is connected to Derec's system. Everything stays on the phone, and the app keeps working the way the recruiter is used to.
+31 6 •• •• •• 04The recruiter's number
Derec's systemConnected
THE MESSAGES
Every message comes in
From that moment on, the system receives a copy of every message that is sent or received.
Are you available from week 32?Yes, mornings work best for me.I'll send you two schools this week.
THE SUMMARY
AI writes the summary
AI writes a short summary of what was discussed and agreed. It also indicates whether the conversation is finished and, where needed, splits different subjects into separate notes.
Written by AI
THE NOTE
In the candidate's file
The summary is saved as a note in the candidate's file in Carerix, the recruitment system the whole company works in. The subject shows straight away what the conversation was about.
WhatsApp conversationFinished
Available from week 32Available from week 32, mornings preferred. Asked about travel distance to Alphen; two schools to follow this week.
PRIVACY
Conversations are read, not shared
AI reads a conversation only to write a summary of it, and does not share it any further. Only that summary is saved in the recruitment system, and a recruiter can always delete a note themselves. Conversations between two colleagues are not stored, so colleagues can simply keep chatting with each other.
WhatsApp on the phoneKCandidateYes, mornings work best for me.SummarisedCColleagueLunch at half past twelve?Not stored
Only the summary goes to the fileWhatsApp conversationFinished
Available from week 32Available from week 32, mornings preferred. Asked about travel distance to Alphen; two schools to follow this week.
How it works
From a chat to a note in the candidate's file: along the way, a message passes through five places.
Recruiter's phone → WhatsApp · A message, in either direction
The recruiter chats as always
A recruiter and a candidate message each other the way they are used to. This is the only step a person takes; everything after it is automatic.
WhatsApp → Derec's system · A copy of the message
Passed on straight away
As soon as a message is sent or received, WhatsApp sends a copy to Derec's system through a webhook. The system recognises the candidate by the phone number and adds the message to the right conversation.
Derec's system → AI · The conversation so far
AFTER 10 MINUTES OF SILENCE
A first summary
Everything discussed so far goes to the AI, which writes a summary of it.
AI → Recruitment system · The summary
Available in the file straight away
The summary is saved as a note in the candidate's file, so colleagues can already read along while the conversation is still going on. If more is said, the same note is updated.
Derec's system · Two hours of silence
Then the system waits
To avoid running the AI more often than needed, the system waits until it has been quiet for two hours. Only then does a more capable AI model start, which categorises the conversation more precisely.
Derec's system → AI · The whole conversation
What was the chat about?
The whole chat goes to the AI again, now with a different question: which conversations does it contain, and is each of them finished?A chat about a start date and about a contract consists of two conversations. Each conversation gets its own subject and the status finished or still open.
AI → Recruitment system · A note per conversation
The file is up to date
Every conversation is saved as a note in the candidate's file, with the right subject. If a conversation is still waiting for a reply, the note is updated as soon as that reply comes.The recruiter did not have to do anything for this.
What it runs on
- Meta Cloud API with webhooksPasses on every message as soon as it is sent or received.
- Job queue with delayed jobsWaits until a chat has gone quiet before anything happens.
- LLM with fixed instructions (prompt)Writes every summary in a structured way, in the same form each time.
- Carerix API integrationSaves every note in the candidate's file.
The payoff
It has been in use at Derec since August 2026. The information about a candidate is now in one place, where the whole team can access it.
What was agreed with a candidateBeforeStayed on one recruiter's phoneNowIs in the candidate's file, available to every colleague
A colleague taking overBeforeHad to ask what had been agreedNowReads the notes
When the last contact wasBeforeHad to be checked with colleaguesNowIs visible straight away from the dates on the notes