Research from CV-Library has found almost three in 10 jobseekers are drafting their CVs and cover letters for AI recruiter bots – up threefold on last year’s figure,
Candidates are increasingly tailoring their job applications for artificial intelligence rather than the human who will make hiring decisions, raising concerns that the race to ‘beat’ AI could be making it harder for candidates to stand out.
The latest Candidate Behaviour Barometer from CV-Library surveyed 1,043 candidates and 233 recruiters and direct employers, found that 29 per cent of candidates have deliberately changed their CV or cover letter because they believed AI might screen it – almost three times the number recorded in 2025.
But this approach is having the opposite effect. 70 per cent of candidates say widespread AI use makes it harder for them to stand out, while 69 per cent of recruiters agree that AI-generated applications make it harder to identify the strongest candidates.
Recruiters are also seeing the impact first-hand, with 83 per cent encountering signs of AI-written applications frequently or occasionally.
As applications become increasingly polished and tailored for AI, recruiters are becoming less confident in what they see. More than a third of recruiters (36 per cent) are now less confident than a year ago that a CV or application accurately reflects a candidate’s true skills.
Among those who have become less confident:
- 52 per centcite obviously AI-generated CVs or cover letters
- 44 per centcite candidate exaggeration
- 31 per centcite increasingly polished or generic applications
This creates a difficult cycle – candidates are trying to optimise their applications to get past AI, while recruiters are finding it harder to distinguish genuine talent and ability. For candidates, the message is clear – AI should support, not replace.
And there is a clear appetite for human judgement, with 58 per cent of candidates saying a guarantee that a human will review their application would make them more comfortable with AI being used in recruitment.
“Candidates are becoming so focused on writing for AI that they risk forgetting their real audience – the human making the final hiring decision,” said Alec Stanwell, Director of Marketing of CV-Library. “AI can help improve an application, but it shouldn’t remove the personality, skills and real-world examples that can make a candidate stand out.
“For employers, increasingly polished applications mean it’s important to look beyond the CV, using interviews and skills-based assessments to understand what a candidate can do. The goal should be to identify the candidate who genuinely fits the role best, rather than simply the application that appears to look the strongest, as it’s clear, overly polished CVs can do the opposite effect.”
To help jobseekers use AI without losing their individuality, CV-Library has released five prompts designed to make AI-assisted CVs more personal, evidence-based and tailored to the individual. The full toolkit can be found on CV-Library’s blog.
