The Reed Group is a values-led, purpose-driven family owned Philanthropy Company (PhilCo). Established in 1960, our purpose is improving lives through work. Reed.ai is here because it is true to our purpose.
Over seven decades, we’ve built recruitment, learning and professional services for our private and public sector clients. Entrepreneurialism is the heart of our culture.
There are more than 1.2 million small to medium sized businesses in the UK employing between 2 and 249 people. These companies are the engine of local economies, yet hiring can be challenging.
The cost of growth
For SMEs, recruitment isn’t a line item, it’s a pivotal moment. When a team of five hires one new person, that’s 20% of their workforce. Recruitment can be perceived as disproportionately expensive to their business in the early days. SMEs need high quality hiring support at a cost that reflects their reality. Reed.ai is designed to meet this need, and in the cases where working with a recruitment professional will help our customers get the outcome they want, Reed.ai will identify this and connect you to our network of recruitment specialists.
Time is a critical resource
Many business owners don’t have recruitment departments. They have hours squeezed between delivery, finance, customer care, and everything else that keeps their business moving. Hiring needs to be fast, guided, and frictionless. Technology can simplify decision making and support the process any time of day or night.
Confidence in every hire
Without in house hiring expertise, many leaders find recruitment tricky. They know what their business needs but may not know how to translate that into a hiring profile. We are imbedding recruitment intelligence and expertise into Reed.ai.
Heritage meets tech
What sets Reed.ai apart is that we are not a typical startup. We are built with the agility of a new venture but backed by 65 years of recruitment experience, recruitment data and entrepreneurial wisdom. We’ve seen what makes great matches work over time, and we’re translating that into technology that advises, not just automates.
Shaped in a tough market
We are establishing product-market fit during one of the most challenging recruitment climates in recent memory. UK unemployment has risen to 4.8%, and job vacancies have now fallen for the 39th consecutive period. Starting here means we’re forced to deliver real value, cost effectively, not hypothetical promises. If we can solve recruitment for SMEs now, we will be stronger in better markets.
Jennifer May, Chief Customer Officer, Reed Group and Reed.ai
Published 17/10/2025