As the U.S. labor market slows, AI-driven interviews and auto-generated cover letters are dramatically changing the job-hunting process. And maybe not in a good direction.
More than half of the organizations surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management used AI to recruit employees in 2025. Additionally, an estimated one-third of ChatGPT users reportedly rely on OpenAI chatbots to assist with their job search.
However, a recent study found that applicants are less likely to be hired when they use AI during the process. On the other hand, the amount of applications that enterprises are supporting is increasing.
“Today,[companies']ability to select the best workers may be exacerbated by AI,” said Anais Gardin, a Dartmouth researcher who co-authored a study that looked at how large-scale language models (LLMs) influenced cover letters.
Gardin and his co-author Jesse Silbert of Princeton University analyzed cover letters from tens of thousands of job applications posted on the job posting site Freelancer.com.
Researchers found that after the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022, companies stopped putting as much effort into their letters, although they were all longer and better written. This made it difficult to distinguish qualified hires from the rest of the applicants, reducing acceptance rates as well as average starting salaries.
“If we don't do anything to improve the flow of information between workers and companies, this could be the outcome,” Silbert said, referring to the study's findings.
And with more applications to review, employers are automating the interviews themselves.
More than half (54%) of U.S. job seekers surveyed in October by recruiting software company Greenhouse said they had taken an AI-driven interview. Virtual interviews exploded in popularity during the 2020 pandemic. Many companies are now using AI to ask questions, but that doesn't make the process any less subjective.
“Algorithms can mimic and even amplify human biases,” said Jure Holtrop, a researcher who has conducted research on the use of asynchronous video interviews, algorithms, and LLMs in employment. “All developers need to be aware of that.”
Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait warned that AI is permeating recruitment, creating a “loop of doom” that will make everyone miserable, from applicants using tools to apply for hundreds of jobs to employees automating processes in response.
“Both sides are saying, 'This is not possible, this is not working, and things are getting worse,'” Chait told CNN.
Employers are embracing this technology, with one estimate predicting that the recruiting technology market will grow to $3.1 billion by the end of this year. But state lawmakers, labor groups and independent workers are starting to push back, concerned that AI could discriminate against workers.
Liz Shuler The president of the AFL-CIO union said the use of AI in employment is “unacceptable.”
“AI systems are denying workers the opportunity to qualify based on arbitrary criteria like name, zip code, or even how often they smile,” Schuller said in a statement to CNN.
States such as California, Colorado, and Illinois are enacting new laws and regulations aimed at establishing standards for the use of technology in employment, among other things.
A recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump threatens to weaken state-level AI regulation. Samuel Mitchell, a Chicago-based employment litigation attorney, said the order does not “preempt” state law, but it adds to the “continued uncertainty” surrounding new regulations for technology.
However, it added that existing anti-discrimination laws will still apply to employment even if a company uses AI. And a lawsuit has already been filed.
In a lawsuit sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union, a hearing-impaired woman is suing HireVue, an AI-powered recruitment agency, alleging that the automated interviews she underwent did not meet legally required accessibility standards.
HireVue denies the claims, telling CNN that its technology works to reduce bias through “validated behavioral science fundamentals.”
But despite early challenges, AI adoption appears to be here to stay. And certainly, new developments in AI are enabling more sophisticated ways to analyze resumes, opening doors to candidates who may have previously been overlooked.
but Those who emphasize the “human touch” in hiring will lose talent.
Jared Looper, an IT project manager based in Salt Lake City, Utah, started his career as a recruiter. As part of his current job search, he interviewed with an AI recruiter.
He found the experience “cold” and hung up on the program the first time he was contacted.
Looper now worries about those who have yet to learn how to navigate new hiring processes, where navigating artificial intelligence is a key skill.
“Some good people are going to be left behind.”
