- Job seekers using AI-generated apps face facial detection and potential rejection by employers.
- Companies have noted an increase in job applications written by AI, complicating the hiring process.
- Experts recommend tailoring AI assistance to stand out — using it as an editor, not a writer.
If you’re hoping to use ChatGPT to get ahead in your job application, you may be doing yourself a disservice.
While companies have been leveraging AI to automatically screen resumes, job seekers have begun responding with chatbot-generated applications to stay on top of things — and employers are taking notice.
Jakob Knutzen, co-founder and CEO of video collaboration platform Butter, said he received about 450 applications for a product designer position. But Knutzen told Business Insider that he was able to detect what he believed was a fair amount of ChatGPT scripted responses to three questions on the form.
“The formula is very similar and uses a series of phrases that I never imagined anyone else would use,” he said.
As Knutzen voiced his concerns in a LinkedIn post, a number of other employers reported seeing a similar trend of a surge in AI-written job applications.
Christina Hallman, who is the head of demand generation for cybersecurity risk management firm Outpost24, recently said she received more than 250 applications for two open positions.
He told Insider that 45% of optional cover letters are generated by AI.
“I went to ChatGPT and posted a job ad, and then I asked you to give me a cover letter,” Hallman told Insider. “And the results were pretty much the same as what I’ve gotten over and over again.”
He said that it doesn’t necessarily eliminate those candidates from the running, but when it comes to choosing between an application that uses a ChatGPT-generated cover letter and a similar application that doesn’t, the latter will be accepted.
“Eventually, it just became like, well, that’s not helping,” he said. “It’s better to just not stick anything in.”
Hallman, who says he has a decade of recruiting experience, says he has seen a marked increase in the use of AI among applicants over the past year or two.
And it will likely continue to increase as ChatGPT and other AI tools become more accessible — and popular.
A 2023 study by iCIMS found that 47% of undergraduates were interested in using ChatGPT or other AI bots to write their resumes and cover letters, while 25% of Gen Zers surveyed said they were already using them.
Some recruiters have considered creating “AI-proof” questions, such as requiring a Loom introductory video. Others have even set up chatbot traps by sneaking hidden instructions for the LLM into applicant responses.
While Knutzen said his company did consider using video or other questions that might reduce the likelihood of AI-generated responses, they decided against it out of concern that “the barrier to entry would be too high.”
However, some comments under Knutzen’s post suggested that job seekers were simply trying to level the playing field with recruiters — especially in an increasingly tough job market.
One person wrote, “When companies use automated systems to decide who is worth interviewing, what do they expect applicants to do?”
More than 97% of Fortune 500 companies use automated recruiting systems, according to a 2023 study by Jobscan.
“I think it’s more of a frustration with the application process as a whole,” Knutzen said. “I don’t think that companies respect the applicant process.”
Knutzen, who says his company doesn’t use an ATS, points out that many companies tend to ignore candidates or send automated rejections, which can discourage job seekers.
“If you don’t get much feedback on your applications, you start to think that they don’t matter,” he said. “If the company doesn’t think they matter, why should I?”
However, Knutzen stressed that the problem is not with the use of AI, but rather with its use “as a writer, not as an editor.”
Hallman said he “fully expects” people to use AI in their jobs and applications to save time, but he cautioned candidates against relying on it blindly.
“It’s not the use of AI that’s the problem, it’s the lack of customization that comes with it,” Hallman said. “If you’re going to use AI, I think you need to use it intentionally.”
He said that applicants who use the same chatbot written responses will get lost among their identical competitors.
“You need to have human checkpoints,” Hallman said. “Or you’re just going to have a sea of people spewing the same thing.”
