A third of U.S. workers with knowledge of their company’s hiring practices believe artificial intelligence tools will likely run their entire hiring process by 2026, according to an Aug. 19 report from Resume.org.
In fact, 57% of companies already use AI in hiring, and 74% said it has improved the quality of their hires, the report found. However, more than half expressed concerns about AI screening out qualified candidates, introducing bias or lacking human oversight.
“Companies should be open with candidates about AI’s role in hiring to build trust, improve the candidate experience, and meet evolving compliance standards,” Kara Dennison, head of career advising for Resume.org, said in a statement.
“This means clearly explaining where and how AI is used, whether it makes recommendations or rejections, the level of human oversight, and what data is collected,” Dennison added. “This proactive approach promotes fairness, prepares candidates, and demonstrates a commitment to ethical, effective hiring practices.”
In a survey of nearly 1,400 full-time workers, 74% said their company plans to increase AI use during the hiring process over the next 12 months. Already, these companies most commonly use AI in hiring for resume reviews, candidate assessments, candidate communication and onboarding.
Among the 34% of companies that use AI for interviews, half allow it to conduct interviews directly. Employers also deploy AI tools to analyze candidate language, assess tone and even collect facial recognition data. While 71% retain human oversight, others say “it depends” or allow AI to run the process independently.
Among the companies using AI, 35% reject candidates based on AI recommendations during any stage of the hiring process, while 39% limit it to the initial hiring stages. Only 26% require human oversight for every rejection.
Even so, many survey respondents said they remain cautious about the limitations of AI, especially bias and a reduced candidate experience. To address this, more than 3 in 4 of companies have policies that govern the ethical use of AI in hiring, and another 20% said they plan to implement policies.
As AI use grows more prevalent for both employers and candidates, hiring has become “stuck in an AI doom loop,” the CEO of Greenhouse, a hiring platform, previously said. Candidates noted that it’s harder to stand out, with some using resume hacks or interview tricks to get attention, while hiring managers turn to AI to find top talent and screen out embellished qualifications.