Key findings
- 40% of UK hiring managers report using AI anywhere in CV screening.
- 75% of graduates believe employers use AI to shortlist very or somewhat often.
- 42% of graduates say they have personally noticed AI in a screening process.
- 55% of graduates have used AI to write or edit their own CV.
How many employers use AI to screen CVs?
Two in five. Among 250 UK hiring managers involved in graduate recruitment, 40% say their organisation uses AI somewhere in CV screening. The majority, 60%, do not report using it.
What do graduates believe?
That it is close to universal. Three-quarters of graduates (75%) believe employers use AI to shortlist candidates very or somewhat often.
This is not only assumption. 42% of graduates say they have personally noticed AI in a screening process they went through.
Graduates think AI screening is standard. Two in five employers report using it
View data
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| Graduates who believe employers often use AI to shortlist | 75% |
| Hiring managers who report using AI in CV screening | 40% |
Why is there a gap?
There are three possible reasons, and the data can't separate them.
Graduates may be overestimating, because AI screening gets a lot of coverage. Hiring managers may be under-reporting, because screening tools built into recruitment software aren't always thought of as AI. Or graduates may be applying disproportionately to the larger employers that do use it.
All three are probably true in part. What matters is the effect: graduates are writing applications for a reader they think is a machine.
Are graduates using AI themselves?
More than half are. 55% of graduates have used AI to write or edit their CV and 46% have used it for cover letters.
So the picture graduates hold is AI on both sides of the application: written with it and read by it. On the employer side, that is true less than half the time.
AI is more common in writing applications than in reading them
- Graduates
- Hiring managers
View data
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| Graduates who have used AI to write or edit their CV | 55% |
| Graduates who have used AI for cover letters | 46% |
| Hiring managers who report using AI in CV screening | 40% |
What this means
If you recruit graduates, your applicants have already decided how you screen. Most have decided wrongly.
That has practical costs. Applications get written to beat keyword filters, so they read alike. Candidates who distrust the process drop out or disengage. And an employer that reads every CV by hand gets no credit for it.
Two actions follow.
- State your process on the careers page. One sentence: whether AI is used in screening and at which stage.
- If you do use it, say what a human still decides. The 42% who have noticed AI in a process will assume the rest.
Our findings on how graduates use AI to get hired show the other half of this picture.
Frequently asked questions
Do employers use AI to screen CVs?
40% of UK hiring managers involved in graduate hiring say they use AI somewhere in CV screening, according to The Reality Department.
Is AI reading my CV?
In most cases, probably not. 60% of UK hiring managers do not report using AI in CV screening, though 75% of graduates believe it is common.
How many graduates use AI to write their CV?
55% of UK graduates have used AI to write or edit their CV, and 46% for cover letters.
Methodology
The Reality Department surveyed 250 UK hiring managers involved in graduate hiring at organisations with 50 or more UK employees, and 250 UK graduates who are graduating soon or recently graduated. Fieldwork: August 2026.
Related: Graduates think the robots are already hiring
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