Applied alternative: spoken work samples, scored before your panel reads
Applied got something right early: judge people on a sample of the work, not on the keywords in their CV. It came out of the UK’s Behavioural Insights Team, and it shows.
The cost is reviewer time. Each written work sample is scored by people on your team, often more than one. That works for a policy role with 60 applicants. It gets heavy when a customer service opening brings in 600, and the work sample you really want is a phone call, not an essay.
The short version
- Same idea, different medium: Applied tests with written work samples. Greet tests with a spoken one: the AI plays the customer and the candidate handles the call.
- Who scores: Applied uses your reviewers. Greet scores every session against the criteria you write, and you check the ones that matter.
- Price: Applied’s pricing is not published. Greet is $99/month for 100 sessions, on the site.
What Applied is
Applied is a London hiring platform built to reduce bias. Applications are anonymised, candidates answer work-sample questions that several reviewers score, and interviews are structured. Its customers are often in the UK public sector, charities and organisations with strong diversity goals.
It does that well. The approach is research-based, it replaces CV keyword matching with real tasks, and its reporting on diversity across the hiring funnel is strong.
Where it falls short
From its own site:
- Scoring takes team time. Work samples are scored by your own reviewers, which adds up at volume.
- Built for considered hiring. It suits careful processes more than hundreds of applicants a week.
- Pricing is not published. You need to talk to them to find out.
What Greet does instead
The work sample is the job, out loud
For roles that happen on the phone or at a counter, a written answer only goes so far. In Greet the AI takes a part: a patient disputing a bill, a customer whose delivery is late, a caller asking for something the policy does not allow. The candidate has to handle it in real time, and the AI follows up when an answer is thin.
Same scenario, same rubric, for everyone
Every candidate gets the same scenarios and is scored against the same assessment blocks you write: knowledge, communication, English level, problem-solving, or anything the role needs. That keeps the structure Applied users care about, without asking three reviewers to read every answer.
The first pass is done for you
Each session returns a match rate, a written summary, the transcript and the recording. One remote medical billing opening screened with Greet drew 1,220 applicants. At that size, the useful job for your panel is reviewing the top of a ranked list, not scoring the whole pile.
You can check every score
AI scoring is only useful if you can see why. Read the transcript, or play the recording at the point where a score was earned or lost. Export everything as CSV or PDF for your records.
It fits next to what you already run
You do not need to replace your process. Use Greet as the spoken first round, then keep your structured interviews later. ATS integrations (Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Ashby, BambooHR, Workable, Teamtailor and more) are optional.
Side by side
| Applied | Greet | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Anonymised applications, written work samples, structured interviews | Two-way AI voice interview with role-play scenarios |
| Price | Not published | $99/month for 100 sessions, $200/month for 500 |
| Who scores | Your reviewers | AI, against your criteria; you verify |
| What it tests | Written answers to work-sample questions | Spoken handling of a real situation from the job |
| You get | Reviewer scores and diversity reporting | Score, summary, transcript and recording per candidate |
| Best volume | Considered hiring | High-volume and remote roles |
Which one to pick
Pick Applied if you are a public-sector or mission-driven employer that wants anonymised applications, multi-reviewer work samples and diversity analytics in one place.
Pick Greet if the job is spoken (support, billing, front desk, sales), you get more applicants than your reviewers can score, and you want the work sample to be the call itself.
Try it on one role
- Pick a high-volume role where the job happens on the phone.
- Turn your best written work-sample question into a scenario the AI acts out.
- Press Play and take it yourself.
- Send the link to applicants and give your panel only the top of the list.
Create your Greet account and run it on one role.
Competitor details come from the public pages below, checked November 2026. Prices change; check the vendor’s site. Greet details are from greetai.co.