AI tools are creating a flood of applications and making it harder for HR to tell resourcefulness from deception in the recruitment process
Job seekers are increasingly turning to AI to help them hunt for new roles, using large language models to write their CVs and answer questions in interviews, putting increased pressure on HR teams.
“A lot of candidates are definitely doing it, especially because things are virtual,” Tova Angsuwat (pictured above, right), founder of recruitment firm Series Build told HRD.
Sitting in on a recent interview, Angsuwat, who spent 11 years recruiting at Google, and now works mostly with tech startups, noticed some strange behaviour from the candidate.
“The interviewer would ask the question, and then you hear some really fast typing, a long pause, and then the candidate’s response,” Angsuwat said.
“For the most part, candidates are doing themselves a disservice when they use ChatGPT to come up with the interview questions live.
“It's actually just much more distracting to use during an interview than if they took the time to gather their thoughts and then present.”
Employers and candidates both harnessing AI in recruitment process
Numerous examples of job seekers appearing to use AI in job interviews have been posted on social media apps like TikTok, while employers are also using the technology to screen CVs and conduct interviews.
“There's also pushback from candidates around these AI interviews, before they even meet a human,” Indeed’s Workplace Expert Lauren Anderson (pictured above left), told HR
“It's not that candidates dislike technology, and it's also not that employers dislike technology, but they both dislike feeling like inventory. I think that's where this tension is coming from.”
Recruiters 'flooded' with applications
AI job tools have also created a candidate glut, overwhelming HR teams with applications, Anderson said.
“The faster candidates can apply, the more recruiters get flooded with applications, and that's making things feel really chaotic,” Anderson said.
“That's not AI's fault, and we were going to end up here anyway.
“It was always a little bit unbalanced when a job seeker would spend 30 minutes or more crafting the perfect cover letter, and then 88% of time they're getting ghosted.
“It is helping level the playing field, but it doesn't mean it's necessarily comfortable for our HR teams at all.”
While a growing number of candidates use AI to improve their applications, many still think using it during a face-to-face interview is unacceptable, according to a recent report hiring platform Greenhouse.
Around half of candidates use AI while they prepare for an interview, (50% in the UK and 42% in Ireland), but only around one in ten thought it was acceptable to use AI during interviews (9% in UK, 12% in Ireland), according to the Greenhouse 2025 Workforce & Hiring Report.
Worryingly for HR, the report found 28% of candidates use AI to generate fake work samples,
The report, which surveyed 2,200 active job seekers, found 27% of candidates said they had never encountered an employer policy on using AI in applications and interviews, including 28% in the UK, 33% in Ireland and 27% in the USA.
"Hiring is stuck in an AI doom loop," warned Greenhouse CEO and founder Daniel Chai when the report was released earlier this year.
Bringing back face-to-face interviews
Globally, major companies are responding to AI usage during hiring. Earlier this year, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the tech giant would introduce one round of in-person interviews, to “make sure the fundamentals are there”.
Others are embracing AI, including Canva, who have lifted a ban on its use during interviews.
“The rise of AI interviewing tools has changed the landscape entirely,” Canva’s head of platforms, Simon Newton wrote in a blog post in May.
“Rather than fighting this reality and trying to police AI usage (which is increasingly difficult!), we made the decision to embrace transparency and work with this new reality.”
Damien Miller (pictured centre), partner at recruitment agency Sharp & Carter, told HRD they support implementing a face-to-face meeting during the hiring process, saying personal connections need to be made before hiring commitments are finalised.
"Ultimately, recruitment is about people working with people—human interaction has to remain at the core,” Miller said.
Retaining your voice
Miller believes AI is here to stay, and candidates and employers need to adapt to it.
“Where it’s used well, it helps job seekers present their skills more clearly, tailor applications more effectively, and feel confident in their communication,” Miller said. "It can also save time, particularly for those who may struggle with structuring a CV or articulating their achievements.”
“Where it goes wrong is when candidates rely too heavily on AI and lose their own voice,” Miller said.
“Employers want to hire people, not algorithms, so it’s important that AI is used as a support tool—not as a replacement for personal insight and real-life experience.”
