If you received a "Failed — Update Candidate Fields via AIRA Notetaker" notification, it means the agent ran after your call but hit an error that prevented it from updating the candidate profile. This article walks through every possible cause and how to fix it.
Where to see the failure details
Before troubleshooting, get the specific error message:
Go to AIRA → Agents in the left sidebar
Click on the "Automatically update Candidate Fields via AIRA Notetaker" agent
Open the Activities tab
Find the failed run and click it — the error reason is listed there
💡 Tip: The run log shows which candidate triggered the failure, what rule was applied, and the exact error message. Always start here — it narrows the fix to one of the causes below.
Common causes and fixes
1. The call transcript wasn't captured
The agent works by reading the call transcript produced by AIRA Notetaker. If the notetaker didn't join the call, left early, or the meeting platform blocked it, there's no transcript for the agent to work from — so it fails.
Fix: Check whether the call appears in AIRA Notetaker → Meetings with a completed transcript. If the transcript is missing or partial, see What to do if AIRA Notetaker Didn't Join or Capture a Meeting for next steps.
2. The candidate profile no longer exists in Recruiterflow
If the candidate record was deleted from Recruiterflow between the time the call happened and when the agent ran (there's usually a short processing delay), the agent can't find anyone to update.
Fix: Check if the candidate still exists. If they were deleted by mistake, restore the record and manually add any notes from the call. The agent won't rerun retroactively, so you'll need to update the fields by hand.
3. A custom field in your rule no longer exists
If your agent rule is configured to update a custom field that was later renamed or deleted in Settings → Custom Fields, the agent will fail because it can't find the target field.
Fix:
Go to AIRA → Agents → Update Candidate Fields agent → your rule
Check the list of fields configured for update
If any field shows an error or appears blank, click Edit and re-select the correct field (or remove it if it no longer applies)
Save the rule
4. The agent was disabled between the call and the processing run
There's a short window between when a call ends and when the agent processes the transcript. If the agent was toggled off during this window, the run fails.
Fix: Re-enable the agent toggle on the agent card. For the failed call specifically, you'll need to manually update the candidate fields — the agent won't retroactively process missed runs.
5. The call didn't match your rule's criteria
If your rule has specific filters (e.g., only run for candidates in "Interview" stage, or only for calls longer than 10 minutes) and the call didn't meet those conditions, the agent skips it — but this shows up as "not run" rather than "failed." If you're seeing an actual failure notification, this is less likely the cause, but worth checking.
Fix: Review your rule criteria in the agent settings and confirm the call/candidate would have matched.
The agent failed — can it reprocess the call?
No. The agent doesn't retry failed runs automatically. Once a run fails, you have two options:
Manual update: Open the candidate profile and update the relevant fields by hand, using the call transcript as your source
Fix the root cause and rely on the agent for future calls
Still failing after checking all of the above?
Contact help@recruiterflow.com with:
The candidate name and ID
The date and time of the call
A screenshot of the run log error
Your agent rule configuration (a screenshot works)